by Jonathan Kipp, publisher
WELCOME
REINVENTION
I'll never forget it. The sun was beating down on my back. The horse beneath
me was breathing hard from the climb up the vista. And as I approached the
crest of this Montana outlook, the vast view quickly grew in size as we came to
a halt. I was alone except for a few gay cowboys and girls who were on the same
adventure and, of course, our four-legged companions.
No one spoke. Pure stillness. And that was the moment. I finally felt right in my
own skin. I was home.
I think many of us have a moment like this in our memo-
ry. There is a time when we leap from mere acceptance to pure
celebration of who we are. Pride. For some it comes early in life. And yet for
others it can take a lifetime to get there. We are all on our own path.
When I think of Pride, I think of that journey to Big Sky
country, that ride, and how life got a little sweeter that day.
We are all on a journey. Just Out is too.
After nearly 30 years of consistent publishing Just Out hit a bump in the road.
You probably heard about it. It was indeed a sad day for thousands of loyal
readers. Many have reached out. They expressed their eagerness to fight for
Just Out's return. And as you well know, things worth having are things worth
fighting for. And Just Out is.
Just Out is back in production under new ownership. And there
is a new vision for this endeared publication. You'll get a sense
of it as you peruse the pages in our debut issue. But rest assured,
Just Out has the same soul that only decades of publishing can bring to a bunch
of white bound pages.
Jonathan Kipp, Roscoe, MT
ATTENTION PAST ADVERTISERS
As the new publisher of Just Out, we have made our best
attempt contacting all past advertisers, especially those who
may have prepaid for ads that didn’t run under the previous
publisher.
Because the records we received were not complete, there is a
chance that we missed you. If we did, it was not intentional
and we want to make it right. However, we need to hear from
you before July 10. Please contact us at sales@JustOut.com, or
by calling 503.828.3034 Ext 1.
Reach Jonathan at jonathan@JustOut.com
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JustOut.com
For nearly three decades Just Out has been there for our
community through thick and thin. And readers and advertisers have been
there for Just Out. We’ve celebrated together and we’ve grieved together. We’ve
seen progress and we’ve been forced to reckon with setbacks. We’ve turned
on one another and we’ve turned toward each other. We’ve celebrated our
pride and had to face our shortcomings. And like I did so many years ago,
we’ve read of people that have gone before us; during our darkest moments
their stories planted a welcomed seed of hope that it gets better.
We’ve been through it all. But there is more to do. There are more stories to tell.
There are more minds to change, souls to touch, and the ever-alluding ideal of
justice for all people to fight for.
To do this, Just Out needs to be there doing its job of entertaining, inform-
ing, and being the collective mirror of our community as it has been for so
long. But more importantly, Just Out needs you for the next 30 years. We are
in this together whether we are sitting in an urban studio apartment alone, at a
party with hundreds of our friends, or sitting speechless taking in a spectacular
view — on a horse.
June 2012