Six years ago, Mark Wineka, just named editor of the new Salisbury the Magazine, summed up the purpose of the publication with a simple message: Salisbury’s the place. 

Salisbury is the place for a magazine that celebrates the people, places and things we take pride in, he wrote. With each issue, Wineka worked to show readers why Salisbury is the place. 

In the ensuing six years, Mark, designer Andy Mooney, photographer Jon Lakey and a cadre of contributors succeeded beyond anyone’s wildest dreams in creating the finest local magazine in the state of North Carolina. Time and again, the North Carolina Press Association named the magazine the best of its kind in the Tar Heel State. More often than not, it won first and second or third in its category. 

Even after he retired at the end of 2019 from full-time work at the Post, Mark served as editor of the magazine for two years, carrying it through the depths of the pandemic and continuing to tell readers why Salisbury’s the place as it became harder than ever to connect with neighbors and friends. It might have seemed simple, asking readers to submit pictures, but the summer 2020 edition was one of the most unique yet — showing the fruits of people’s quarantines. 

As we sheltered, our creative talents ignored boundaries, Mark wrote in the pandemic edition. 

The Holiday 2021 edition of Salisbury the Magazine, a publication of the Salisbury Post, was the start of Mark’s full-time retirement. A familiar face is taking the reins of the much-loved publication: Susan Shinn Turner. 

Turner is a southern Rowan County girl who’s written extensively about Salisbury and long ago stopped needing directions to get around town. If there’s a story floating around Salisbury or Rowan County, she’s heard it. 

She’s a China Grove native who graduated with honors from South Rowan High School. She went on to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism. During her career, she’s worked for four North Carolina newspapers, including the Post. 

Since 2013, Turner has been a full-time freelance writer, with frequent appearances in the Post and Salisbury the Magazine.

She’s the daughter of Cora Shinn and the late Ed Shinn, who died Aug. 2, 2021. She is the wife of Jim Turner, and her son, Andrew Poe, is a 2019 graduate of Catawba College. 

When she’s not writing or reading, Turner enjoys spending time with her family and walking Deacon, the white Labrador retriever she gave her husband — a third-generation Wake Forest fan — for his milestone birthday this year. That may or may not have been a wise decision. Time will tell. 

We’re thrilled to have her take on the editing job and know that she’ll hit the ground running, finding stories about the people and places that make Salisbury and Rowan County unique. 

Send her your story ideas, introduce yourself or say congratulations to a friend by emailing susanshinnturner@gmail.com. 

In the meantime, the winter edition of the magazine is now on the streets. It can be found at all the usual locations or at the Salisbury Post’s office at 131 West Innes St. in downtown Salisbury.

This edition features stories about Bobby Mault, a China Grove-area staple who’s well-known for his service station and the Price of Freedom Museum. There are features about Brian Hinson, a Salisbury High School football coach who’s taken the program to new heights with the help of talented athletes such as Jalon Walker, Vance Honeycutt and a host of others, and Hayden Simmerson’s home, which was made with reused bricks and materials from elsewhere.

Alyssa Nelson, the city of Salisbury’s urban design planner takes readers on a walk through Bell Tower Green Park. The Rowan original is Martha Corriher, who you can usually find at the Landis American Legion on the first Saturday of the month.

I hope you enjoy the winter edition of Salisbury the Magazine and return to magazine racks in the new year excited for more.

Josh Bergeron is editor of the Salisbury Post.