While producing SouthPark Magazine 12 times a year is no small feat, we realize our jobs are slightly easier than our media counterparts covering topics like crime and local politics. We predominantly write about the good things in life — great food, fine art, beautiful homes, luxurious destinations.
So, when I learned recently that our publication won eight 2025 North Carolina Press Association awards, I was both pleasantly surprised and quite proud of our staff and contributors. Each year, the NCPA, founded in 1873, honors excellence in news, photojournalism and advertising.
Contributing writers Ron Green Jr., Page Leggett, Kathleen Purvis and Katherine Snow Smith were recognized for their stories on the Wells Fargo Championship, ArtPop Street Gallery, local food programs that prioritize purpose over profit, and Paralympian Carson Clough. Our December 2024 cover by photographer Olly Yung, Style Editor Whitley Adkins and Art Director Alyssa Kennedy won second place for Cover of the Year. Our May 2024 issue won first place in the magazine or niche publication category, and our staff also won three awards for advertising, including our Guide to SouthPark. This neighborhood directory, published in collaboration with SouthPark Community Partners, highlights businesses and amenities in SouthPark’s central business district. (A second edition is coming out later this year, and we also recently debuted a Guide to Ballantyne — keep an eye out for both at local retailers.)
Editorial standards are hazier than ever these days. AI-generated everything is creeping into all corners of the internet and social media. And it’s become typical practice for some magazines and websites to “sell” the editorial pages — meaning that sometimes when you think you’re reading an independently written story, the feature was actually bought and paid for by an advertiser. We don’t follow that practice here at SouthPark. Any story you read was chosen by the editors and written by staff or a contributor without “approval” by the subject, unless the feature is clearly noted as sponsored, paid or partner content.
These days, authenticity is becoming rarer and rarer. And while we admit, we aren’t always perfect, we can’t imagine doing things any other way. Thanks to our readers, advertisers, staff and contributors for believing in what we do and for being a part of SouthPark. SP
CATHY MARTIN
Editor
editor@southparkmagazine.com
IN THIS ISSUE:
1 – A pretty powder room at the Horstman home on Queens Road
2 – Courtney Kovacs’ disco hallway
3 – Charlotte FC head coach Dean Smith talks with writer Natalie Dick
4 – The nationally acclaimed Charlotte Chess Center
Photographs by Dustin Peck, Amy Kolo and Richard Israell
