Global Traveler will be celebrating its fifth year of publishing with the February issue. It truly marks a milestone for the company; a company that weathered probably more than most companies of comparable size have had to endure. 12/28, yesterday, marked the date that the fledgling Global Traveler was sued by a competitive title, simply to keep us down and make us spend money. If you have yet to be sued, you must try it — as they say, you’re nobody until you have been sued! Fortunately, all lawyer jokes aside, we had some great attorneys that took on a company 100 times our size and made them cry momma! Not that it did not cause many sleepless nights — but those early mornings were well used to keep Global Traveler ticking in the beginning stages. Ask Alex about the emails at 4 a.m.! I must send many kudos to Alexandra Young and Lisa Matte. They helped me keep the company rolling and kept my spirits up during those days. Once we brushed the riff raff from our back — and won the frivolous lawsuit that it was — it was smooth sailing ahead. Well, sort of. But, the last couple of years have really seen Global Traveler grow — from 10 issues a year to 12 with five bonus editions in 2008. We have surpassed all of the competition, on every level, and it is gratifying to see what a wonderful publication GT has become. Like all companies, we are expecting a challenging year, but we are in a good position compared to others in the marketplace — including the one that “served us” on 12/28/04! -Fran Gallagher, publisher and CEO