Letter From The Editor
They say home is where the heart is. I do believe this - however - I also believe you help to make your house your home. It's all in where you feel comfortable, loved, happy and content. That's where your heart lives. Most often times, that place is your house, or in some people's cases their gardens. Every spring, we get the joy in putting together a very fun Home and Garden guide - a resource to some of the great stores, services and people who can help turn your homes (or future homes) and gardens into masterpieces.
In 2015, a home took on a whole new meaning as my husband Jason and I purchased our first house together and have been slowly spending the time since making it into our home. I have a lot of fun decorating, buying furniture and envisioning what each space has for potential. Lucky for me, there are tons of great resources and places to find just what I need for our house. We also just welcomed my step-daughter Madison to live with us full-time - and it's definitely added a lot of fun and teenage excitement into our lives.
You may have noticed the recent Coldwell Banker campaign - #weloveYMM taking over social media and around town with their community business partners. Community booster, sports enthusiast and the 2016 United Way Campaign Chair just to name a few of his roles, Colin Hartigan from Coldwell Banker answers a few of our questions on page 6.
We also have the pleasure of welcoming some wonderful people to our community - members of the newly arrived Syrian refugee program. I'm so happy that our new residents will get to experience what we all already know - that Fort McMurray is one heck of a place to live! Let's all put on our best welcome hats and make sure that all of our new neighbours feel welcomed and at home here in our region. Bradley Karp tells just one of the stories on page 9.
A huge congratulations also goes out to realtor and longtime YMM contributor Michael Jesso on his 20 year anniversary as a realtor. He gives us his "12 Steps to Summer" that he's learned along the way on page 20. Cheers Jesso - the team at YMM wishes you another great 20 years helping the residents of YMM and making us all laugh while you do it!
I wish you all a great spring and summer season! Make sure to shop local when you deck out your home and garden to make it feel and look extra great! You'll find me enjoying sangria on my patio (after I get some new patio gear for my collection! Don't tell Jason).
Krista Balsom
Editor-in-Chief/Publisher
@kellybalsom
@ymm_magazine
