MESSAGE FROM THE GT EDITOR
IT’S hard not to feel a sense of pride when reflecting on the 20th anniversary of gt magazine.
And not just as its current editor, but as a born and bred Geelong resident.
Each week, gt shares stories that represent the very best of our region. As such, its history is our city’s history.
The pages of the past 20 years document the rise and rise of Geelong — the evolution of its food scene, the surge in entrepreneurial spirit, the revitalisation of central Geelong, the growth of our arts sector and the increased focus on technology and sustainability.
gt has followed the careers of homegrown talent such as actors Guy Pearce and Esther Anderson, TV host Rebecca Maddern, singer-songwriter Xavier Rudd, netballer Madison Browne and stage star Amy Lehpamer from the very beginning.
But ultimately it’s a place where high-profile personalities grace the pages alongside ordinary local people doing extraordinary things. It is a place of celebration and inspiration. The vision of gt’s founding and longest-serving editor, Janet Bond, was so in tune with what the people of Geelong wanted to read that many of her original concepts remain today.
I couldn’t help but smile while browsing the very first edition recently, noting a Father’s Day gift guide not dissimilar to one we ran a few weeks ago.
The gt brand’s enduring influence is evidenced by the cafe owners who tell us of a boom after being featured, business operators who say a mentioned product went on to sell out and charity volunteers who express gratitude for a spike in fundraiser ticket sales after a shout-out.
Just last week a woman told me she’d recently sent her husband back to the service station because he had returned from his morning coffee run with a Geelong
Advertiser that didn’t have a copy of gt inside. After two decades, it’s hard to picture our weekend ritual without gt. Thanks to the growth of digital media, there’s now the added benefit of being able to enjoy your favourite premium lifestyle content online anytime, and the team has relished engaging with readers through channels such as Instagram.
Our writers are forever being asked how we continue to find such talented individuals and innovative businesses to highlight each week, but in fact, the challenge is in narrowing it down.
So thank you to all who have trusted us to tell your stories over the years. Thank you for being vulnerable about your heartbreak, honest about your deepest desires and, in many cases, literally welcoming us into your homes. And thank you to our avid readers. Your ongoing enthusiasm for the stories in our pages means we can continue to write our own.
We look forward to seeing what the next 20 years hold.
JEMMA RYAN
Magazines and lifestyle editor, Geelong Advertiser