
Edition 15 | Winter 2019

Does anyone even read a magazine anymore?
Story by LivAbility Creative Team
Photo by Kade Garner
It’s certainly a question we on this side ponder every quarter as we create each edition. As tough as it is, it all seems worth it when we collect great stories that speak to the disability community. While not every story is meant for everyone, we strive to find unique stories that speak to our diversity.
I recall early on when we pitched the idea of a magazine to the boss (Phil Pangrazio). He asked if there were even enough stories out there to keep a magazine alive. Seemingly so. In the past fourteen editions, we have put together hundreds of stories about the people, places and things that make up our community.
Edition 15 is no different. In a first for the magazine, the cover story takes us out of Arizona. As Kirk Williams explains, Jake O’Connor may have one of the coolest careers we’ve discovered.
As we expand both geographically and in topic, at least one of our stories is sure to grab your attention. A few standout articles include our relationship story by Stephanie Amaya that changes things up a bit (for the better); Kade Garner introduces you to our all-new section on food; Keegan Kelly writes about a local autonomous vehicle that you probably didn’t even know existed; in what is perhaps the most serious story we have ever told, Gary Karp gives us a sobering look at the sheer hell those in California have endured with the recent wildfires.
Finally, we can announce that LivAbility has a new editor. Not surprisingly, she hails from Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. Kasey Kaler is joining us as we put the final touches on this edition of LivAbility. Longtime readers may recall Kasey has contributed a few stories in prior years. As we met with all the candidates, what struck us about Kasey was the opportunity to add a person with obvious talent who could bring a youthful and thoughtful spirit to the team. Once she gets the hang of everything we do, we know she’ll be cooking up a great magazine for the next 15 editions – and beyond.