This month, Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors proudly presents its 75th issue! It’s more than just a number—it’s a celebration of Bringing People Together. From our inaugural issue in 2018 as a Best Version Media publication, to becoming a cherished hometown publication, we’ve inspired hometown pride and become a vital monthly source of valuable information for our thousands of readers.
Thanks to our dedicated Publisher, Bob Blaisse, we’ve brought you stories that we hope to inform, inspire and connect you to the Newtown Square community. To celebrate this milestone issue, we’re reflecting on what it’s been like to fulfill our mission.
The Friends & Neighbors team consists of many driven professionals who take pride in creating something special for our local community. Our Publisher, Bob Blaisse, has a powerful vision and mission of Bringing People Together. He works tirelessly to ensure that our monthly magazine is top-notch and is the only one our community turns to for quality content and expert advice.
Bob’s dedication to this mission was recognized in 2020 when he was named Best Version Media’s #1 Publisher among publishers of more than 1,200 hometown magazines across North America. “Our hometown magazine and our sister publication, Marple Friends & Neighbors, combined for a remarkable top honor among all of Best Version Media magazines,” Bob said proudly. “That honor brings me to the how all our magazines came to be: It’s our advertising Sponsors who make this magazine possible.” Bob explained that our advertising Sponsors willingly choose to use their limited marketing budgets to show how much Newtown Square means to their business and how much we mean to them. “Their advertising in our magazine is not only how we pay the expense of mailing your hometown magazine to you for free every month; it also pays for our writers, designers, graphics, ink and paper, which you know from the quality of our magazine, is not inexpensive, nor is also publishing our magazines online.” We thank our loyal Sponsors and look forward to hearing from them in our A Word From Our Sponsors feature another page in this issue.
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 getting the monthly magazine delivered to their mailboxes.
Hometown pride is important to me as the Content Coordinator for Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors. Although I have been writing for the magazine for four years now, I am a lifelong Newtown Square resident, a Newtown Square business owner for the past 21 years and serve as President of the Newtown Square Business Association. I take great pride in our community and enjoy sharing exciting news and highlighting people who make a difference in our neighborhood.
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.
In November 2018, we featured The Avellino Family: Scott, Mimi, Scott Jr., Maggie and Sarah. Since their family was featured, their son Scott has graduated from Scranton University, Maggie is a Junior at Catholic University and Sarah began her Sophomore year at Villa Maria Academy. This family’s feature article made clear that home is where love is, and almost six years later, they still hold tight to the community they know and love.
If you know the Avellinos, you know that love and laughter go hand in hand. “We really didn’t tell anyone about being interviewed for the magazine beforehand, so we got lots of calls from family and friends who were surprised when they saw us on the cover,” recalled Mimi. The Avellinos also love to be surprised to see who makes the cover each month. This 75th issue is a little extra special because Sarah has earned herself a feature story of her
own on page 32!
Speaking of earning a spot in the books, one of our standout Newtown Edgmont Little League (NELL) players has
been busy making major-league moves since he was featured in our September 2021 issue. At the time, Chris Newell was setting records as a standout baseball player at the University of Virginia, whose team made it to the College World Series in Omaha, NE.
When we asked Chris to give some advice to the younger generation of ballplayers who dream of making it to the big leagues, he said, “Growing up, I wasn’t the best player on my team, but I worked hard to become one. Study the game, listen to your coaches and stay hungry.” Chris’ feature article in our magazine was the talk of the town, and we received many messages from the parents of young players telling us that Chris’ story was a source
of inspiration for their children.
Chris’ advice proves that childhood dreams can come true if you put in the work because, in 2022, Chris was drafted by the L.A. Dodgers organization. He headed to Arizona to play Low A for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. His success on the field continued, and after just a short time, he was brought up to Hi A, where he played for the Great Lakes Loons. His impressive performance at that level earned him another promotion to Double-A, where Chris plays for the Tulsa Drillers. There is no doubt that Chris has a bright future because luck didn’t get him to where he is today – hard work did.
You may recall The McCalla Family, who was featured in our May 2023 issue. Mike, Laura, Michael, Kathryn and Mary Jane said there’s No Place Like HOME when it comes to Newtown Square. Their photo shoot took place at NELL, where Mike serves as President of the Board. “So many people
commented on how appropriate it was that we got our family pictures taken at NELL since that is where we spend most of our time,” Laura said. “It’s a special place that has really helped us become friends with so many community members.” She added that they all had an awesome experience being featured and that the kids thought they were bonafide celebrities!
Mike and Laura have been big fans of the magazine since its first issue. “We look forward to getting it in the mail each month,” Laura said. “Mike and I love to read about the young families raising their kids here now as well as the older generations and how their kids have flourished in Newtown Square and what they are currently pursuing.”
It’s been a busy year for the McCalla family. Michael, Kathryn and Mary Jane are all back to school after a fun-filled summer. This fall, they are enjoying watching Michael play baseball for Philadelphia Baseball Training (PBT) and soccer for Devon. Kathryn is busy with NSPL Rebels Softball and St. Annie’s Field Hockey. Mary Jane is living her best life dancing at From the Top and playing Fall Ball at NELL. They are busy but still find time to relax on the porch and watch the Phillies and Eagles games together.
Since the very first issue was mailed to homes, 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.
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 75th issue, 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.
The success of our hometown magazines takes a team of dedicated individuals who all share the same mission. Executive Assistant to the Publisher Lisa Jeffries joined the team three years ago. “Bob felt I’d make a good addition to the team. That was one of the best days of my life,” she said. “I love working with this incredible team of talented and dedicated professionals. I also really enjoy working with our Sponsors and Expert Contributors and learning about their amazing stories and wonderful contributions to our community.”
Holly Stupak, the Content Coordinator for our sister publication, Marple Friends & Neighbors, shared her thoughts.
Holly said, “I’ve lived in Broomall for over 20 years. What I love most about my role as Content Coordinator is that it has made me feel more connected to this community and the people around me. Interviewing people here with such diverse backgrounds has been a huge perk.”
Not only do our readers enjoy a variety of feature stories and valuable content from our Experts, but they always have 
wonderful things to say about the look of our magazines. That is thanks to our Contributing Photographer, Crissy Everhart and our Designer, Kim Cesati. Kim said, “Working with this team over the past 75 issues has been wonderful. They make my job easy and enjoyable.” Kim added that after she is done designing the magazines, she enjoys sitting down to read the articles. Her favorite is Doug Humes’ monthly History Spotlight feature.
Speaking of our favorite Expert Historian, I asked Doug to share a few words about his experience writing for the magazines. “I recently came across my New Year’s Resolutions from 1995, and one of them was to look for ways to find 
outlets for my writing,” Doug recalled. “Be careful what you wish for! Since 2018, I have been writing first two, and now three, local history articles a month for the Friends and Neighbors magazines. It’s a labor of love, and I am so thankful that I connected with Bob Blaisse and his staff to make this particular dream of mine come true.”
Our team not only works well together but also takes time to enjoy each other’s company outside of the “office.” We attend local shows and events together, gather to celebrate holidays and special milestones and host parties for our Sponsors to say thank you for your loyalty. Working together has undoubtedly been a rewarding experience, and I am excited to see what the future holds for our hometown magazine.
What makes the 75th issue particularly 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 75 issues.
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.