A few months ago now, I found out that I was going to be losing Associate Editor Mike Finnegan and that I needed to begin looking for a person to replace him. Initially, I thought it would be easy to replace him, and I half-heartedly started looking for someone to fill his shoes. Soon, the pressure was on as Finnegan had left MT and began working on OFF-ROAD magazine full time. Sure, he was being a good guy about it and still helped with Mini Truckin', but ultimately, working double time is enough to freak anyone out.
Far sooner than I had hoped, I didn't have Finnegan around to depend on anymore, and I was really on my own. It was about this time that I got on the cam about finding someone. As the pressures of running the magazine were compounded by trying to find a responsible body to fill the position, I began to stress out like mad. A few weeks later, I had a pretty good stack of rsums and applications piling up on my desk, and I did my best to separate the candidates who looked really good on paper from those who couldn't spell any word with more than a single syllable, much less figure out what "takin' pitchers" (translation: photography) is about. I also didn't want someone to come in and work on the magazine for the sole purpose of building a custom truck.
After going through the pile and making several calls to those I felt would best represent Mini Truckin', I was able to narrow the stack of official Primedia applications and personal rsums down to a small handful of hopefuls. I then started making phone calls, all the while working to try to keep Mini Truckin' on schedule for deadline. Let me tell you, I don't look forward to working on MT alone ever again. This magazine has always been put together each month as a group effort, and being reduced to a staff of one (just me) has been something that I equate to being stranded on a freshly paved stretch of freeway with a 'bagged ride and a blown compressor.
As if the workload hadn't been heavy enough, the 2003 show season started, and I had no choice but to begin flying all over the country to cover events for MT. Keep in mind that there are pages due on MT every week, no matter who is - or is not - working on the magazine. This is about the time I came across the rsum and application for a guy whose first name is no stranger to those who read Mini Truckin'. This is when I came across Mike. This isn't just another guy named Mike, mind you. This is a guy with three first names. This is a guy who has so much energy right now, he's making me tired just watching him buzz around the office and pick my brain to better understand his job. His name is Michael Anthony Alexander, and as of now, he's the newest member of the Mini Truckin' magazine editorial staff.
I couldn't have asked for a more enthusiastic person to help run Mini Truckin', and I can't wait to teach him everything I've learned over the past eight years of working on MT. Now, before you get all worried that Mini Truckin' is being changed in some way, please rest assured that...you're right! We've got lots of changes coming for this magazine, and it's about time we got some new blood circulating around here. I'm not a kid anymore, and I'm not so sure that anyone who reads Mini Truckin' is looking to read a kid's magazine, either. I do believe, however, that there's plenty I'm missing because I'm not in my twenties anymore. Mike is a whoppin' 22 years old, is building a sick S-10 Extended Cab that already lays body on 22s with "stock" sheetmetal, and has so many new ideas that he's giving me a headache. (Honestly, I'm totally kidding about him giving me a headache.) You see, I've been here a long time now, and I had forgotten what it was like to be the new guy, never really getting the gist of things the first few times around. Now it's part of my job to break Mike into publishing without diminishing his enthusiasm or high level of excitement for his new job, while making him always feel like he's just as important as anyone who has ever contributed to Mini Truckin' over its life span. This is going to be fun!
As you read Mini Truckin' this month, think ahead to the years to come. I'm more excited than I've been in years, thinking of all of the possibilities that are in store for this magazine. I'm even more excited to be able to go to work with someone who has so much to offer the magazine in the form of untapped ideas and a limitless amount of energy. When you see Mike Alexander at shows, be sure to give him the same respect you give me when I'm on the road. He's the future of Mini Truckin', and that means the future is definitely looking bright. Until next month, keep your eyes and ears open or you may miss out on learning something new. L8R.