It has certainly been a year of change. The pandemic changed the lives of many people and forced us to re-evaluate everything, including our jobs and commutes, what friends and family are worthy of being in our bubble, and where we want to spend our time in lockdown — and I was no exception. My husband and I had a baby, moved across the country from a huge city to a much smaller one, bought our first home and — the cherry on top — I started this new job.
I could not be more thrilled to join Endeavor Business Media as the new editor of Professional Distributor and PTEN magazines. It truly is a dream for me to marry my B2B magazine expertise with my love of cars. Growing up, my uncle was a stock car driver, and I rarely missed a Saturday night race. I loved the feeling of my feet vibrating in the bleachers as the cars zoomed around the track, cheering proudly as my uncle did his victory lap with the checkered flag (he had a trophy room he won so much), and even scrubbing the soot off my face when I got home — that’s how you know it’s a good race.
Sometimes I would help my uncle in his garage get ready for that week’s big race, handing him whatever tools he needed. By day, my uncle was the vice-president of service for a family of car dealerships, and although he is now retired, Sunday night dinners always include some shop talk.
For the past seven years, I have been the editor of a health and safety publication where I covered the myriad of personal protective equipment needed to keep workers safe as well as how safety professionals can excel in their jobs. I have a true passion for ensuring the magazines I edit bring value to the reader and help you be the best you can be at your jobs. I believe mobile tool dealers, shop owners, and technicians are hard-working, dedicated, and strive for continuous improvement. Similarly, I think there is an opportunity to make Professional Distributor and PTEN even better in meeting your needs. The results of the 2021 Reader Study will undoubtedly provide valuable insight, but I also encourage you to reach out to me directly with your ideas. What can we do better? What topics do you want to see covered? What is keeping you up at night and how can we help alleviate that stress?
I very much look forward to meeting you all at upcoming conferences and industry events, as well as connecting on social media. You can connect with me on LinkedIn and follow me on Twitter @amandasilliker.
I have already had the pleasure of speaking with a few of you and I can tell I will get along great with this down-to-earth group. I can’t wait to go on this new adventure with all of you.
