New local magazine targets mature readership

Publishers J.D. and Linda McMillan hope their new magazine, Fifty Plus, will attract the older adult who leads an active lifestyle. The first issue of the monthly publication was released at the beginning of April.

J.D. McMillan said he'd had the idea of starting the magazine for several years.

"I know there's a lot of people 50 and older living in this area," he said. "I did studies on the local demographics and learned there are more people age 50 and older living in Springfield than any other age group. I think that's because this is a nice place to live and there are lots of activities in this area of interest to people that age. I thought it would be nice to have a magazine with articles and activities that includes this age group. They, typically, have more time and money to spend on recreation and hobbies that interest them."

The magazine is printed on nonglare, matte paper which its owners hope will make it easier for those 50 and older to read.

While the McMillans are responsible for getting the magazine published, the editing and layout responsibilities fall to Bonnie Bradshaw, editor-in-chief. She does all the desktop publishing and prepress work and edits Fifty Plus for accuracy and grammar.

Bradshaw is an independent graphic artist and desktop publisher who's done the editing and layout for a number of publications both local and national.

In fact, that's how Bradshaw met J.D. McMillan.

"She was the editor of her own publication when we met," McMillan said. "I printed the publication for her as an employee of Benchmark Printing." Benchmark also prints Fifty Plus.

McMillan contacted Jim Thompson, president of the Writers Hall of Fame, an organization with headquarters in Springfield, about getting writers for the magazine.

Thompson wrote an article for the first issue and is helping McMillan find writers. Each issue will contain 16 specialized departments that the publishers and editor think will be of interest to the targeted readership.

Some of the departments are of a more serious nature, like "Financial/Investments," which includes a column written by J. Barry Watts, CFP, the president of J. Barry Watts and Company, and "Health/Medical" which is written by Lynn Morris, registered pharmacist and the owner of the eight-store Family Pharmacy chain. Other departments, such as "Grandparenting," Recreation/Hobbies" and "People of Interest" are just for fun.

Bradshaw said she's received a number of favorable calls about the "Memories & Photos" pages in which readers are encouraged to send their memories and photos describing events that occurred at least 25 years ago.

The April and May issues of Fifty Plus will be free and can be picked up at local libraries, grocery stores and drugstores. After the May issue, the magazine will be available on a subscription basis for $18 per year.

Subscription forms are included in the magazine, and "once the Web site I'm developing is up and running, people will be able to subscribe that way, as well," Bradshaw said. "The Web site should be up in a month or so." It will be located at www.fiftyplusmagazine.com.