There are certain milestones that make you stop for a moment and look back. Reaching 100 issues of Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors is certainly one of them.
On Monday, September 28th, the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors recognized that milestone in a very special way. At their meeting, the Board presented Publisher Bob Blaisse with Resolution No. 2026-30, recognizing the publication of the magazine’s 100th issue.
Seeing those words on an official township resolution was an honor. One hundred issues means eight years and two months of monthly magazines, countless interviews, photographs, phone calls, emails, edits, deadlines and conversations. More importantly, it represents thousands of local stories about the people, businesses, organizations, history and traditions that make Newtown Square such a wonderful place to call home.
The resolution itself captures what has been at the heart of this magazine since the very beginning. Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors is a hometown magazine dedicated to Bringing People Together by featuring local residents, organizations, businesses and community stories, while providing advertising opportunities that support small businesses. The Board also recognized the magazine’s role in educating residents about Newtown Township’s history and celebrating the people, places and traditions that make our community unique.
That simple mission has guided every issue since the first magazine arrived in local mailboxes in August 2018. When Bob first launched the magazine, he envisioned something different from the many other publications people receive. He wanted to create a magazine that celebrated the community itself. Bob and his wife, Jean, have lived in the Marple Newtown area since returning from their honeymoon in 1994. They raised their four sons here, participated in school and sports activities, supported Boy Scouts and volunteered with local organizations. They know firsthand what makes this community special.
When Best Version Media co-founder Dave Durand invited Bob to join the company, Bob followed the advice to first launch a hometown magazine himself. That decision led to the first August 2018 issue of Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors and, remarkably, a new issue every month since.
For me, the journey began differently. I was already a lifelong Newtown Square resident and had owned my own local business for many years. I first became involved with the magazine as a Sponsor and Expert Contributor through From the Top Studio of Dance. I appreciated the opportunity to support other local businesses while sharing useful information with our neighbors. Eventually, my lifelong love of writing led me to join the magazine team in 2020. I have proudly served as Content Coordinator ever since.
That perspective has made the 100th issue especially meaningful. I have had the privilege of sitting across from hundreds of people in their homes, businesses and community spaces and asking them to tell me their stories. Sometimes the stories begin with a simple question about where someone grew up. Other times they involve a family business that has been here for generations, a student accomplishing something extraordinary, a volunteer quietly giving back or a family that moved here because they heard Newtown Square was a wonderful place to live.
Newtown Township Supervisor, Cheryl Grosso is a big fan of our magazine and was proud to approve this resolution. “When Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors arrives in my mailbox, I love seeing who’s on the cover and catching up on what’s happening around town — it reminds me how much we have to be proud of right here. Congratulations on 100 issues of bringing these stories to our homes and keeping our community connected!”
The Avellinos became part of the magazine’s history, but more importantly, their story demonstrated something we have seen repeatedly over the years: families change, children grow and the community continues to evolve. By the time of our 75th issue, Scott had graduated from Scranton University, Maggie was attending Catholic University and Sarah was at Villa Maria Academy. Sarah even returned to the magazine with a feature story of her own.
That is one of the greatest gifts of a hometown magazine. It gives us a reason to slow down, notice the people around us and sometimes follow their stories long after the original article appears.
The resolution recognizes that the magazine has delivered more than 16 million pages of hometown stories and community pride to Newtown Township homes and online readers since its founding. That number is hard to grasp until you consider what those pages represent.
They represent a family sitting around the kitchen table reading about a neighbor, a business owner sharing their expertise to someone in need, a parent proudly saving a copy of the magazine because their child was featured, a veteran seeing a chapter of local history remembered and a volunteer realizing that the work they do matters. And they represent the countless times someone has stopped Bob around town to say, “I saw that article.”
The Board’s resolution also specifically recognizes the magazine’s commitment to supporting local businesses. That relationship has always been an important part of our story. From the beginning, Bob has emphasized that our free 
monthly publication exists because local business owners choose to invest in the community. In fact, the original Charter Sponsors helped make the magazine possible in the first place.
Doug has been writing local history articles for the Friends & Neighbors magazines since 2018. Doug shared a wonderful story about how the opportunity came about. He found a 1995 list of New Year’s resolutions in which he wrote that he wanted to find outlets for his writing. “Be careful what you wish for!” Doug joked. “Since 2018, I have been writing first two, and now three, local history articles a month for the Friends & Neighbors magazines. It’s a labor of love, and I am so thankful that I connected with Bob and his staff to make this particular dream of mine come true.”
One of the most meaningful historical stories we have published was about Private First Class Clifford Douglas Murray, Jr., the only soldier from our area to die during the D-Day invasion in Normandy. Connecting with his family and telling his story was an honor. Even more meaningful was seeing the story lead to a flag-raising ceremony at the Newtown Square Veterans Memorial, where Clifford’s fam- ily gathered to see the community recognize his service and sacrifice. These stories are important because a community is not just where we live today. It is also the people and places that came before us.
The resolution continues to recognize Bob and me as long-time Newtown Township residents who have demonstrated a commitment to serving our friends, neighbors and community. That part of the resolution means a great deal because this has never felt like simply a job. It has become part of how we experience our hometown.
Of course, a magazine does not reach 100 issues because of two people. It takes a team. For those of us who work with Bob, his commitment is easy to see. He is constantly thinking about the mission, the Sponsors, the readers and ways to make the magazines better.
Our designer, Kim Cesati, turns all of those stories, photographs and advertisements into the beautiful magazine that lands in your mailbox each month. Executive Assistant to the Publisher Lisa Jeffries joined the magazine team several years ago. “I love working with the talented and dedicated team and especially enjoy working with Sponsors and Expert Contributors and learning about their stories and contributions to the community,” she said.
My fellow Content Coordinator, Holly Stupak, and I regularly collaborate to share stories and identify quality content our readers will enjoy. And our talented photographers, Crissy Everhart, Veronica Brown and Chelsea Lupica, work their magic behind the lens to create captivating cover photos. That sense of teamwork is important because every issue requires collaboration. There are stories to find, interviews to schedule, photographs to take, articles to write, advertisements to place, pages to design and deadlines to meet. Then we do it all again the next month.
And then there are the people who matter most: Our Readers.
So many of our stories begin with a suggestion from someone in the community. A reader sees a family doing something special. Someone knows a local business owner with an interesting story. A neighbor remembers a piece of history that deserves to be told. A parent tells us about a student who has accomplished something remarkable. Those suggestions are how we discover many of the people who eventually become part of the magazine.
That is how a magazine becomes part of a community. That is also why this 100th issue does not really belong to Bob and our team. It belongs to Newtown Square.
It belongs to the families who opened their homes and shared their lives with us. It belongs to the business owners who believed in the magazine before there was a track record to prove it would succeed. It belongs to the volunteers, teachers, coaches, first responders and community organizations that allow us to tell their stories. It belongs to the readers who keep nominating people and tell us how much they enjoy seeing their neighbors recognized.
The Newtown Township Board of Supervisors concluded its resolution by extending sincere appreciation to Bob for his continued efforts to “Bring People Together,” celebrate Newtown Township, support local businesses and foster community pride.
We are deeply grateful for that recognition. Leonard Altieri, Chairman of the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors, added, “Con- gratulations to Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors on reaching your 100th edition! Thank you for helping keep our community connected, informed and engaged with the people, events and organizations that make Newtown Square such a special place to call home. Here’s to many more editions celebrating the people and community spirit that make our township great!”
As we look ahead to the next 100 issues, our hope is to continue to introduce you to more families, uncover more history, recog- nize more hometown heroes, celebrate more students, highlight more local businesses, and share more of the stories that make this community unique.
And the best part is that there are still so many stories left to tell.