From Karen Erstad, former senior editor: Three years ago, just after my son was born while I was dreadfully sleep deprived and struggling to soothe a colicky baby, people would say, “Oh, but they grow up so fast.” At the time, those were not terribly comforting words, but I must admit, they’re true. The last three years have raced by, and I’ve barely had a moment to record memories for my son or his 1-yearold sister. So in the interest of devoting more time to my kids and family, I’m leaving AQUA. I want to thank everyone who has taken time to tell me about hot tubs, pool pumps, chlorine and everything in between. I’ve learned so much while working at AQUA, and had a lot of fun at trade shows along the way, too. My goal has always been to write useful, relevant articles for our readers, and I hope they’ve been helpful.
I wish you all a great 2008, and you never know, perhaps some day I’ll make my way back to the pool and spa industry. On that note, hello again to Scott Webb, AQUA’s new senior editor.
From Scott Webb, returning senior editor: After a five-year hiatus, I’m very happy to be back on the team at AQUA. I left in 2002 for reasons very similar to Karen’s. Since then, I have continued to freelance for AQUA, I wrote a couple of books on tractors while living in Washington State’s San Juan islands and was a trade-magazine editor in Auckland, New Zealand. But now the family is all back within the friendly confines of Madison, Wis.
I hope to renew some acquaintances in the industry during the coming months, as my new role will involve mostly feature writing. Although I don’t feel like I ever really left, it’s great to be back at AQUA full time.
