Letter From The Editor 

by Shanna P. Dickens

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What goes up…must come down, and that includes temperatures. I know it’s hard to imagine now, but the temperatures will soon begin to drop. And when they do, we have your go-to adventure guide. Our new section “Out & About” is dedicated to all of the wonderful ways there are to explore Acadiana. We take a look at two rapidly growing outdoor activities – kayaking and trail running. You aren’t going to believe how diverse the group of kayakers we spoke to is. We have a long distance kayaker from California, a family of kayakers, a kayak tournament fisherman and kayak racing triplets!  

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And now for the tooting our own horn portion. At the 2017 Louisiana Press Association Awards Banquet, Acadiana LifeStyle took home 30 awards. Of those, we had 11 first place awards and seven clean sweeps, winning 1st-3rd place in seven categories. Our 1st place awards include Best Front Page, Best Feature Story, Best Photo Package, Best Special Section – Editorial, Staff Generated Color – Advertisement, Best Ad Campaign, In Paper Promotion, Multiple Advertiser Page, Best Services Ad, Non-Retail, Best Retailer Ad and Best Special Section, Advertising. 

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While this is a huge win for our publication, it’s also a huge win for the community we serve. Each of the stories, sections, images and advertisements that were recognized are positive representations of Acadiana. We take a great deal of pride in showcasing the businesses, organization and culture of this vibrant community. We love the opportunity that the Louisiana Press Association gives us to share our stories while broadening our readership so we can give others a glimpse into how great life is on the Bayou. 

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This adventurous issue has something for everyone…so dive on in.