It’s time to celebrate! Our Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors magazine is turning SEVEN this month, thanks to our dedicated Publisher, Bob Blaisse, whose vision of Bringing People Together in our hometown is now 84 issues strong! But this milestone is more than just numbers—it’s a celebration of Bringing People Together. From our inaugural issue in 2018 to becoming a cherished hometown publication, we’ve become a vital source of inspiration and valuable information for our readers.
As your Content Coordinator, I’m excited to be a part of an award-winning team and reflect on some of the residents featured on our covers who make a difference in our community. We’ll also hear from our readers about what makes Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors so special and why they look forward to receiving the monthly magazine in their mailboxes.
We take great pride in spotlighting local families, individuals, entrepreneurs, authors and volunteers. We love to hear from you about how much you enjoy our cover stories and features. We enjoy sharing them with you as much as you love reading them. Every month, you’ll also find local events and the latest news on what’s happening around Newtown Square.
Some families travel the globe, while others love the Jersey shore. We have featured residents who are making a difference in the world and those who are volunteering their time to support our local youth programs. And for those of us who grew up here, it’s a treat to learn about families who choose to move to Newtown Square because they’ve heard it’s a great place to live!
For The Werner Family, being featured in our March 2022 issue was easy and fun. Lauren, Stephen and their young daughter Victoria were excited to see their story in print. “We thought we were just your regular, normal, boring family,” Lauren laughed, “That was until we read the article and were surprised at how just a simple conversation with Sheila turned into a fantastic story that proved our lives are a lot more interesting than we ever thought.”
It’s been a busy few years since we featured The Werners. Most notably, Stephen and Lauren welcomed a baby boy, Nathan, to their family. Big sister Victoria is turning six years old this month and loves dance, gymnastics, tee ball and Disney princesses. “Victoria goes to St. Anastasia now,” Lauren said. “It’s really special to see her go to school where Stephen went.”
When we first published their story, Stephen and Lauren told us how much they love living in Newtown Square. “We love our neighbors, our neighborhood and this wonderful community. We live on a street with families that Stephen has known since grade school, and we immediately felt at home here.” That sentiment 
still holds true today, but it’s even more special now because Victoria has friends and classmates in the neighborhood and is helping to forge the next generation of lifelong friendships.
Since the very first issue was mailed to homes in 2018, we’ve consistently highlighted the unsung heroes of the community—those who work tirelessly behind the scenes to make our town a better place to live. From educators to first responders, these families and individuals remind us of the importance of community and shared responsibility.
Over the years, we have introduced you to H. Eugene Vickers, who was a WWII Navy Lieutenant and a resident of Newtown Square for 67 years. He was featured in our Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors magazine several times as a centenarian, with his birthday falling on Veterans Day, November 11. He was also featured on the cover of the magazine in November 2019 to celebrate his 104th birthday. His daughter Barbara said, “We are grateful for the acknowledgement of my father from the community, who supported him at the local Veterans’ Day parades and the celebration of his birthdays with hundreds of cards sent in the mail before his passing in July of 2022 at age 106.”
Another memorable and meaningful issue featured an article honoring the life and service of 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, telling his story and recounting what our brave soldiers endured was a great honor for me and my co-author, Doug Humes.
To further honor his service, a flag raising ceremony was held the following month at the Veterans Memorial in Newtown Square. Clifford’s great-niece, Karen Short was in attendance along with her sister, Debbie Peters, Debbie’s husband, retired USMC Caption, Chris Peters and Debbie’s son, Sean Thistelwood. The evening was made even more special because Sue and Bob Catlett, the couple who put Clifford’s story in motion, made the trip from Souderton to meet Karen and her family.“This has been such an amazing experience,” Karen said. “To see my great-uncle’s flag flying high and to have his service and sacrifice recognized means everything to us.”
In June 2023, we turned our attention to the Newtown Square Fire Company (NSFC), which has a proud tradition of volunteer fire service dating back over 100 years. Our community has grown substantially over the years, and our residents know that when there is a call for help, they can always rely on the fire company’s highly trained team of firefighters and fire police to respond quickly. They provide fire rescue services to Newtown Township and a select part of Willistown Township. NSFC also provides and receives mutual aid from our surrounding departments in Marple and Edgmont Townships. We were excited to honor our hometown heroes dedicated to protecting our community that year as our annual recipient of the Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors of The Year!
It’s always fun to scroll through our library of issues at NewtownSquareMag.com to learn about who we have highlighted through the years. You’ll see a community of friends and neighbors from different backgrounds, religions and ethnicities who all love to call Newtown Square their home.
You may recall that back in February 2022, we featured The Shirazi Family, who felt Lucky to Be In Love with Newtown Square. Our readers were especially impressed with Azadeh and Farzad’s son, Roham, who at the time was a stand-out student at Marple Newtown High School. In fact, Roham is no stranger to our mag- azine. He has been mentioned more than once for his involvement in MNHS’ band and theatre programs and was even featured as our Student of the Month in December 2023.
We recently caught up with Roham, who just finished his Freshman year at Princeton University, studying Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. “I really enjoy robotics, but have also taken an interest in neuroscience,” Roham said. “I am considering adding that as a minor.” In addition to his studies, Roham is a member of Princeton’s Chapel Choir and also recently performed in our Marple Newtown 4th of July parade with the Bushwackers Drum and Bugle Corps.
Roham’s mother, Azadeh, was happy to hear from us. She shared that since their article was published, her parents have since moved here to Newtown Square from Iran and that their neighborhood is even more vibrant and welcoming with the arrival of some new families with young babies. She’s also happy to report that their six-year-old Bernadoodle puppy, Benji, whom she described as super quick-witted, energetic and unapologetically unaware of just how big he is, is still her sweetheart.
Azadeh said she really enjoys reading the magazine each month. “We know a few of the families who have been on the cover, but we love getting to know more about other families in our wonderful community,” she said. “We had such a positive experience as a featured family and will always cherish the opportunity to share our story.”
There are often times along the way when we are asked how we find and select our Resident Feature and Community Feature stories. That’s a question that doesn’t have a standard answer because each feature is unique. What we can tell you is that many times, the recommendations come from you, our valued readers of Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors.
So, what is involved in being featured on the cover of our magazine? Great question! The process, from start to finish, is relatively simple. Being a monthly publication, we work under tight deadlines, so once a family, individual or organization is chosen, they are contacted by the Content Coordinator who sends an email with preliminary interview questions. Next, our Contributing Photographer makes the call to set up a complimentary photo shoot at a mutually agreed upon location. Over the years, our photo shoots have focused on highlighting some of the best spots in our community, like local parks, churches, community gathering spots and historic landmarks.
With the photoshoot appointment set, the Content Coordinator then begins to write the story and often follows up with a phone call or in-person meeting to gather more details. A draft of the article is written and reviewed by the featured family, individual or group. After a round or two of edits, the article is ready to go and is submitted to our Designer. That’s it! It’s simple and easy, and most of all, it’s a fun and memorable experience!
One of the greatest rewards of seeing these stories about our neighbors in print and online at NewtownSquareMag.com is the feedback we get from our readers. Whether it’s a social media comment or an in-person compliment, these interactions remind us that our work has an impact.
Each monthly issue is the product of careful planning and collaboration, ensuring high-quality content is consistently delivered to readers. As we celebrate our 7-year anniversary, we want to acknowledge our publication team, who build our magazines each month. Together with Bob, we all care deeply about creating beautiful magazines filled with local content and inspiring stories.
We would be remiss if we didn’t give credit where credit is due. Our free monthly publication is made possible only by the funding from our advertising Sponsors, whose decision to advertise in our hometown magazine reveals just how vital Newtown Square residents are to the success of that business. We rightfully show our gratitude to our Sponsors by showing our loyalty to them and choosing to do business with them first.
What makes this anniversary even more special is not just the number but the ongoing relevance it maintains in a digital age. Our Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors magazine combines the best elements of social media and print by sharing positive, family-friendly stories, Bringing People Together through hometown pride. Visit NewtownSquareMag.com to join us as we look back at the past seven years.
So, what lies ahead for our hometown magazine? As we enter our eighth year of Bringing People Together, we look forward to sharing more of your stories, so please continue to submit your nominations. We are also excited to offer you more Expert content and feature families, individuals and organizations that are making a difference in our community. On behalf of our entire team, thank you for your kind words, appreciation and support of our Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors magazine. Cheers to 7 Years!
Do you know a Newtown Square family, individual or nonprofit group who should become known by our community? Make your nominations for upcoming feature articles by emailing your ideas to Sheila Turner-Hilliard at STurnerHilliard@BestVersionMedia.com.