Howdy . . . and welcome!

During the 17 years I’ve lived in Texas, I don’t know that I’ve actually heard anyone say, "Howdy!" but it seemed like the most appropriate word to associate POWER with its new headquarters in Houston. As you may have heard, POWER magazine and related properties were purchased by The TradeFair Group from McGraw-Hill on March 1 of this year. The TradeFair Group and POWER magazine have had a long-standing business relationship, and the acquisition makes good business sense. Joining forces will allow us to better serve the generation industry with more channels of information, adding the industry’s premier print engineering journal and online newsletter to TradeFair’s annual Electric Power Conference & Exhibition.

So with that brief introduction, we welcome you to the first issue of POWER from Houston. In truth, there is a lot more excitement for us than there will be for you. Other than some minor changes on the cover and masthead, the magazine will be nearly identical to the POWER you’ve been receiving, and we intend to extend the proud heritage established over the past several decades. We are very fortunate to have retained many of the excellent team members responsible for delivering your monthly power generation information source. Dr. Robert Peltier and his staff will carry on the good editorial work they’ve been doing for years. Gail Reitenbach and her team will continue to handle layout, production, and behind-the-scenes work. And the sales team will bring you new products, services, and technology through advertising. That advertising also helps pay the bills, allows this magazine to be published and provides the power generation industry with a trusted source of technical information and solutions.

Though you won’t see many changes in the magazine, that doesn’t mean the transition has always been easy. Each day has presented us with a new challenge—from circulation issues to postage permits, source documents, licensing agreements, vendor contracts, archives, and many more operational details.

While attending a short meeting recently, I received notice that someone was in the lobby with a delivery. As I walked to the front of the building, I wondered why our receptionist hadn’t simply signed for the package and dropped it in my mailbox . . . unless the package was too big. Uh-oh.

The tractor-trailer driver explained that he had 4,000 pounds of magazines, books, reprints, and myriad other documents, and he wanted to know where he could drop them. So, with our hair on fire, we gathered a few of our staff and began moving 2 tons of material from the truck, into the building, and up the elevators to our 5th-floor offices. As I write this, we are in the process of determining inventory. This is just one example of some of the fun we’ve had the past few weeks.

And in this case, I do mean fun. Although it was a pain in our back (perhaps literally) to deal with this delivery, our group came together as a team and worked with what we had available to get the job done, which is a TradeFair Group tradition. And though much of the transition has involved electronic files and documents, the physical nature of this delivery is a clear sign that we are now the official caretakers of this great magazine that has been continually published for 124 years.

As we embark on our new effort, we welcome you to be an active participant. Whether you are a new subscriber or long-time reader, we look forward to providing information that helps you play your role in the energy market. We also hope that you will let us know what we can do to serve you and the market more effectively. Please let us hear from you with any advice or input that you feel is pertinent by sending e-mail to [email protected] or contacting me ([email protected]) or any of our staff directly. If you happen to be in the Houston area, please look us up; we’d be happy to have you stop by.

At the risk of being ridiculed by my co-workers, I offer our warmest greetings or, as people think we say in Texas, "Howdy!" We look forward to working with you and for you for many years to come.

Best regards,

Brian K. Nessen

Publisher