As our loyal readers are well aware by now, February marks the tenth anniversary of Global Traveler. It also marks, for me, my sixth year of working for Global Traveler, so I’ve been reflecting a lot lately on how this relationship affected my life and the course my life has taken over the last half-dozen years.

At the time editor Lisa Matte contacted me through a mutual acquaintance in travel publishing, my life was pretty full. My older daughter’s wedding was a few months away and I was sewing her gown, complicated by the fact that she and the wedding venue were in Chicago and I was in Washington state. We were also preparing to put our house on the market in anticipation of moving to Oregon in the fall. I worked from home for two or three clients on a regular basis as a copy editor and really wasn’t looking to add to my work load at the time. But Lisa explained that this would likely be a temporary job to address a sudden resignation on her editorial staff until she could do a thorough search for a permanent candidate. Intrigued at the idea of working for a monthly travel publication, I agreed to give it a go.

I faced a steep learning curve, but Lisa’s patience and guidance steered me through, so I was sad when my tenure came to an end shortly after the wedding, when current senior editor Jan Hecht came on board. By August, however, Lisa reintroduced me to the team as copy editor and weekend blogger for the GT website (another new challenge, especially for someone who didn’t consider herself a global traveler!).

The next February my husband and I flew to New York to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the magazine and finally got to meet the entire Global Traveler staff, whom I had come to know only via email and phone calls. Since then we’ve said goodbye to some and welcomed many more as the scope and reach of GT has grown, but I’ve been blessed to work for the entire period with our core editorial staff: editor in chief Lisa, managing editor Kim Krol, senior editor Jan Hecht and art director Tracey Cullen. I admire the talented group of individuals publisher and CEO Fran Gallagher brings together to produce the timely and excellent information our readers rely on; and I admire his vision and commitment to his staff, travel partners and subscribers.

The past six years have certainly broadened my horizons: I’ve traveled to New Zealand for GT and shared my travel experiences on cruises, road trips and spa visits through my blog posts and the pages of the magazine. I’ve traveled vicariously everywhere our writers have gone and learned so much about our world and the inner workings of the travel industry. I enjoy looking back at the milestones I’ve experienced with and through GT, and I look forward even more to those yet to come.

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor