On this, the 70th Anniversary of CONTRACTOR, it appears just fitting to reprint the veryfirst editorial released in our extremely initially problem. Written by creator Herbert Walther—who, at the time, appears to haveactually been balancing 3 tasks as Publisher, Editor-in-Chief and Head of Sales—it touches on some points that are no longer appropriate, and some that stay real to this day.
For one thing, we no longer release twotimes a month. For another, we no longer cover the HVAC/R market. That endedupbeing the domain of our sibling publication (and fellow Endeavor Business Media brandname) Contracting Business. Likewise, our wholesaler and producer audience has decreased as our focus has focused on the pipes & heating professional.
One thing that has not altered is our self-reliance. We are not the voice of any market association, union, distribute or production issue. To this day we response to no one however you, our reader. And I state with some pride that I and the editors that came before me haveactually battled tooth-and-nail to protect that self-reliance.
Which implies Herb’s last point is as pertinent now as it was back in 1954: we requirement you, the reader, to make us a muchbetter publication muchbetter serving your requirements. Tell us what subjects interest you, what stories resonate with you, what authors you desire to hear more from. For all the details we can get from Internet analytics and reports, absolutelynothing beats an e-mail (or a great old-fashioned letter) to the editor.
And so, without evenmore ado, take it away Herb…
CONTRACTOR will be a publication of the type the pipes, heating and air conditioning market has not yet experienced. While we mean