Editor’s Letter: Goodbye, and Good Luck

By Tim Taliaferro in Editor's Letter, Jan | Feb 2017, Letters on January 3, 2017 at 9:49 am | 1 Comment

For the past seven years it has been my privilege to serve as editor-in-chief of this cherished magazine. By the time you read this, it will be someone else’s turn.

In late 2009, I was sitting on the mall of the U.S. Capitol when the then-executive director of the Texas Exes, Jim Boon, called and offered me a job. It was to lead the Alcalde, a magazine I had come to respect and admire, and that I thought had great potential. While I was making my way in Washington, D.C., the lure of Texas was too much. In November 2009, I returned home, and I started at the Texas Exes that December.

The March|April 2010 issue marked my first as editor. January|February 2017 is my last. By the time you read this I will have started a new job as executive vice president and editor-in-chief of the venerable Texas Monthly. I consider it my second once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

There’s an old proverb that says if you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together. In the past seven years this magazine has gone far because of so many people working together. I am indebted to each of them. To Jim Boon for hiring me, and to Leslie Cedar, his successor, for promoting me. Their support of me and of the communications department has made all the difference. My predecessor, the amazingly talented Avrel Seale, taught me so much about working with grace and humility. Several former colleagues deserve mention as well. Lynn Freehill, Rebecca Fontenot, Jordan Schraeder, Andrew Roush, John Fitch, Rose Cahalan, Megan Clifton, and Alex Vickery lent their tremendous talents to making the magazine better.

While there are many individual articles, illustrations, covers, and even turns of phrase that strike me as high points, what I am most proud of is the current staff, in whose able hands the magazine and Texas Exes communications will continue. Dorothy Guerrero, Chris O’Connell, Danielle Lopez, Anna Donlan, Melissa Reese, Alan Cundy, Amber Pollei, Corey Gray, as well as our fine design partners at EmDash, are who make the real magic happen. The wider staff at the Texas Exes are a credit to our university, and alumni should take pride in knowing that this alumni association is run by top-rate professionals.

There are also countless people at the university and on campus to whom I am grateful, and I wish I could list them all. Some that deserve special mention are Gary Susswein, J.B. Bird, Marsha Miller, Jim and Susan Sigmon, Maria Arrellaga, Pat Wiseman, John Bianco, Nick Voinis, and Joey Williams. Don Graham, Michael Webber, Jeremi Suri, Daron Roberts, Victor Saenz, and Rich Reddick. Thank you for your wisdom and your friendship.

The cover of this issue features a beautiful Longhorn-themed cocktail, which feels poetic. I hope that when this issue lands in your mailbox, you take the time to whip one up. If you’ll indulge me, allow me to propose a toast: to the University of Texas, the Texas Exes, and the next 104 years of the Alcalde.

Tim Taliaferro

Editor-in-Chief

Photo by Sarah Lim