Merry Merry: December Writings

Hi Friends, Wishing you a warm and wonderful holiday season!

This is my first monthly newsletter, a wrap-up of my published freelance pieces for the month of December. I’m grateful to have you in my life as a friend, reader and/or listener! Thank you, truly.

This little newsletter carries big news:

After months of soul-searching and planning, I have decided to shut down half of my business, Hendricks Communications–the half dedicated to public relations and marketing–in order to focus more fully on my first love, journalism. There is one caveat: I am gratefully retaining one very special anchor PR client of nearly 10 years. Otherwise, I’ll be nearly 100% focused on freelance journalism as we turn the calendar to 2023.

Coming up in March, I’ll be celebrating my 15-year mark as a freelancer! I founded Hendricks Communications, LLC and struck out on my own as a freelance journalist, PR professional, marketer, communications professional and social media strategist, rolled up into one business. It’s been a great formula for me! I am grateful and humbled by the incredible businesses whose stories I shared through PR, social media and creative marketing over the years. We accomplished some great things together!

All of these roles have involved writing and communicating in various forms and I have loved them all. Additionally, I loved being able to weave my career into my family life. Now that my three children are grown and embarking upon careers of their own, I find myself at a new juncture as well, with the chance to refocus and channel my career goals into journalism, and stories that are calling my name. Let’s see where they take me.

If you haven’t already, please go to the home page of my website and “subscribe” to receive this monthly round-up. Many friends have commented over the years that they can’t keep track of my writings. I don’t post them all to social media, so this newsletter is my attempt to keep you, dedicated reader, in-the-loop.

Looking for big city holiday festivities? “Festive Philly” is a piece I wrote for Philly parenting magazine MetroKids, but kids of all ages will enjoy learning about Philly’s hot spots for cool Christmastime fun. I love writing about my hometown! I’ve linked to the article here.

Do Christmas carols strike an emotional chord for you? Holiday tunes, it turns out, can be considered “music therapy” for those of us who have cherished, positive holiday memories. “Music as Medicine” is a fascinating look at the growing field of music therapy and how it’s being used to reach a variety of patients, including during the holiday season. It’s in the December issue of Susquehanna Style magazine, linked here.

“Merry Kitschmas: Christmas wreaths, created by York’s Liatra Sage, are kaleidoscopes of kitsch” appears in TheBurg magazine. Fun fact: Liatra was one of my super-creative PR interns about 10-12 years ago. I’m so glad we’ve kept in touch over the years, and it’s been a joy to see her find her niche–with kitsch. She runs a highly-successful booth at American Daydream Antiques & Miscellanea in York.

If you love a good #BuyLocal, #SmallBiz or downtown revitalization story, then you’ll love “New Energy, New Cumberland,” also published in TheBurg.

And here’s some food-for-thought, for your end-of-year musings or New Year inspo. On TheBurg Podcast, I welcome three guests who talk about retirement, career and life goals. No matter your age or stage in life, I’m sure you can find some nuggets of wisdom in their advice and insights. Tune into “Life Lessons,” here, and subscribe to future monthly episodes of TheBurg Podcast, which I enjoy hosting and producing:

This next story is extremely special to me personally, because it marks the first one I’ve had published in a national magazine:

As we head into 2023, here’s a business trend that’s on the upswing: dog daycare facilities. While dog boarding has been around for many years, dog daycare has taken off with the increase in working families’ dog ownership. Here’s how to find dog daycare that’s sure to be a howling success–a story I wrote for Dogster: Read the digital version on their website here or subscribe to Dogster here, to receive future print editions directly in your mailbox.

In fact, magazine subscriptions are great last-minute gift ideas that “keep giving” all year-long. If you’d like to subscribe to the magazines that regularly publish my work, here’s subscription info:

Subscribe or become a Friend of TheBurg and if you’re connected to a business or oganization interested in sponsoring TheBurg Podcast in 2023: Contact me directly! Shoot me an email me, here.

Subscribe to Celebrate Gettysburg magazine–currently offering a beautiful free ornament with every subscription.

And subscribe to Susquehanna Style, a huge value at only $12 annually

Again, I appreciate each and every friend who has taken time to read my articles, listen to my podcasts for TheBurg, send me notes of thanks or kind words, and/or subscribe to the magazines for which I write. Thank you.

It can be stressful working on a monthly basis, month after month after month as a freelance journalist, let alone doing it for nearly 15 years. But I consider myself truly blessed for many reasons. You–your kind words, support and encouragement–are one of those reasons, along with treasured relationships with my editors and the incredible people whose stories and insights I’m entrusted to relay to you through my writing. During this holiday season, looking forward to 2023, I am feeling grateful and hopeful.