I am at an interesting point in my career. About half of my work life has been spent in the hospitality industry on both the operator side as a server, kitchen manager, country club F&B director and the sales side as a DSR for a broadline food distributor. The second half of my work life has been in B2B publishing. First as an ad sales rep for this magazine and then its publisher before becoming VP of a media division in an unrelated industry (engineering, of all things). In the latest chapter of my career, I am a business owner.

At a time like this, when the tumult over national politics threatens to upend every aspect of our daily and business lives, when the country seems hopelessly divided over ideological issues, when things get crazy … it becomes important to return to the basics. So, I will tell you now what I told you in 2010 in my first publisher’s perspective column as the new owner of FE&S magazine.

If all of us have learned one lesson in recent years, it is that change is among our most consistent certainties. As the speed and volume of information grows exponentially, the problem that we all face becomes sorting through the noise and identifying what is truly important. This industry needs fact-based, unbiased information from a trusted source and the professionals within foodservice equipment and supplies who are best able to access critical information will enjoy a competitive advantage.

We at FE&S want to continue to be the primary must-read source for that information.

With that said, I hope that you will take the time to read Editorial Director Joe Carbonara’s excellent piece this month on consolidation. It’s long … there, you’ve been warned. But, it is also really good. I am awed by the trust that the named sources within this story demonstrated in Joe by speaking on the record with such candor. Consolidation is a big, messy, complicated issue with real-life consequences for the winners and losers. I think Joe handles it here with his typical straightforward right-to-the-heart-of-the-matter style and no matter what your role in this industry, there is something in here for you.