A Fond Farewell

Hello and welcome to our June edition, dedicated to men’s health. I have a big announcement to share with you. After almost seven years of publishing for Natural Awakenings, I’ve decided it’s time to make a shift in my professional life. At the same time, a publishing team with deep roots in the Natural Awakenings family has expressed interest in publishing this Jacksonville-St. Augustine edition. We’re working together during June to facilitate a smooth transition for this magazine that we all love. John and Trina Voell launched their first Natural Awakenings magazine in Ann Arbor, Michigan, 17 years ago and have since grown into four Michigan territories. They’re excited to assimilate into the Florida market and will be a great addition to the community. From July forward, I will enjoy reading each edition, minus the excitement of putting the magazine together each month. The healthy living professionals I’ve met through publishing this magazine will continue to serve as my wellness team long into the future. I will always treasure my time as your publisher. With that, I welcome John and Trina Voell to the helm.

Rebecca Young, Publisher

A Passion-Fueled Mission Brought Us Here

As our dear friend Rebecca moves onto her next chapter and bids you farewell, we’re here to say hello. We are John and Trina Voell—Natural Awakenings publishers with 17 years under our belts—now super excited to broaden our reach with Natural Awakenings in Jacksonville-St. Augustine! Seventeen years ago this month, in fact, we published our first issue of Natural Awakenings magazine, in June 2006 with the Greater Ann Arbor edition hitting stands for the first time. In 2019, we assumed ownership of the Detroit, Wayne County edition, followed by the launch of Traverse City in 2021 and most recently, our Greater Lansing edition in January of this year. The excitement and momentum behind all of this progress remains quite a ride!

Since the beginning, it’s been a passion-fueled mission with endless personal growth opportunities for both of us month after month. We’ve both learned so much and been blessed along the way by the connections we’ve made with many local experts gifted with insights on natural health, spirituality, and sustainability.

As we celebrate our anniversary this month, close to our heart is John’s late father—Natural Awakenings Publishing Corp. visionary, co-founder, and vice president John Voell, “J2”. Our deep love and appreciation endure, for his belief in this venture and in us. We feel his inspiring presence in our lives even to this day.

We’d especially like to thank you, beloved reader, for picking up Natural Awakenings each month and joining other kindred spirits in our collective journey of relishing an awakened life and creating the kind of world we know is possible. One of the splendors of Natural Awakenings’ readership is that you continue to lead our community toward reclaiming more natural, healthy, balanced and sustainable lifestyles. Each of us plays a valuable role as we encourage others to join in, and together we stand for positive change.

We look forward to being a part of this in northeast Florida. This is a dream come true for us to be walking the sandy beaches and experiencing warm winters without the ice and snow. It sounds amazing!

If time is a river, then we are certainly enjoying the flow as we celebrate bringing you this wonderful community resource. We truly appreciate being a part of an organization that shines light on new possibilities for important issues—elevating humanity, ourselves, and our dear Mother Earth.

Onward to the exhilarating journey!

John and Trina Voell