I first met with Wanda Horn and Chris Russo Blackwood—the hardworking journalists who left the daily news world and launched inRegister magazine—when I was straight out of college. The year was 1995, and although I had grown up in Baton Rouge and had scoured the pages of the societal publication for years, I found myself in Lafayette working for The Times of Acadiana as a lifestyle editor of a media group that wanted to launch a similar publication. The owner, Steve May, and I crossed the Basin Bridge and had a lunch with Wanda and Chris that involved booze and cigarettes (that might have just been Steve), as well as plenty of funny stories, insider discussions and strategic planning. We left in a haze of great expectations.

Long story short: The proposed Lafayette publication, La Vie, folded after three years. There are many reasons for this, but it would take a long, boozy lunch filled with cigarette smoke to explain.

Thankfully, my work as a writer, journalist, marketing, sales, communications and business development wannabe was just getting cranked up. I spent the next stretch of time dipping my toe into a smattering of loosely connected full-time gigs while working on contract for any publication in the tri-state area that would publish me. One of those publications was Baton Rouge Business Report owned by Rolfe McCollister and Julio Melara, and I started freelancing for them in 2000.

Fast forward a decade, and Rolfe and Julio had not only purchased inRegister, but they were asking me to step in as editor of the publication—and I was petrified. Not only were we going to rebrand a beloved classic, the expectations of excellence for everything that the company produced (and still produces) was legendary, and I didn’t want to be criticized for not being up to par.

“This could be a very public fail,” I remember saying to my friend via my office landline, as I watched my deflated mylar “Welcome” balloon attached to my computer sway. The joke inside the editorial section of the company was that Ashley was trying to see if she could outlive her balloon. I gave myself six months. (Spoiler alert: I made it 10 years.) No one likes change, and we were about to shake things up quite a bit.

Together with Rolfe, Julio, publisher Kelly Hurtado and a host of community leaders, we set out to take the integrity of the former InRegister Magazine and rebrand it as inRegister for a new generation. This affected everything from the way we told stories to the way we covered events. Certain sections—such as home interiors and philanthropic endeavors—would now be featured in every issue, while the event coverage would have stronger criteria for inclusion.

We got love mail. We got hate mail. I saved a searing message of venom on my voicemail for years so I could replay it if I needed to remind myself that not everyone was a fan.

But the changes we made have had a significant impact on what inRegister became and who it serves today. This lifestyle publication celebrates the very best of Baton Rouge—from altruistic endeavors to inspirational lifestyles—and its fervent love of the city drives every page of editorial on local arts, culture, food, style and more. In 1989, InRegister Magazine launched to highlight the people and events that made the Capital Region worth celebrating, and the publication continues this strong tradition today. It was a privilege to be part of the process. Just wish I had kept that mylar balloon for proof.

Cheers,

Ashley Sexton Gordon
Editor, 2010-2020