I’ve got 1,000 reasons you should pay close attention to this issue of Illinois Country Living (ICL). This edition marks the 1,000th issue of the publication. It’s the 1,000th time it has been sent out to electric cooperative consumer-members across Illinois. Also, we are giving away a total of $1,000.
Our first issue rolled off the press in May 1943. Since then, the world — and this magazine — has changed considerably. In fact, ICL was originally called Illinois REA News. Throughout the decades, we’ve watched communities grow, technology evolve and the way we communicate transform.
It’s seen rural Illinois through more than eight decades of good times and bad. But through it all, ICL has continued to arrive in mailboxes each month, sharing stories of Illinois’ electric cooperatives and the rural communities and people they serve.
Over the years, these pages have introduced readers to interesting people, taken them to unique destinations and shared stories of businesses and restaurants worth a drive. We’ve offered recipes that have become family favorites, important safety and energy efficiency information, and practical advice for the home.
Most importantly, we’ve helped Illinois’ electric cooperatives communicate with the members they serve.
Reaching 1,000 issues isn’t just a milestone for us. It belongs to our readers, too. Many of you have been reading ICL for decades. We often hear from readers who have traveled across the state after discovering a place in our pages and from those who still make recipes clipped from the magazine years ago.
Those connections have kept this magazine going for 1,000 issues. So, we thought a big milestone deserved something special. In honor of our 1,000th issue, we’re giving away $100 to 10 lucky ICL readers — to equal $1,000 — through our Hidden Object contest this month. You’ll find details on how to enter on page 10.
We hope you’ll take a moment to enter and celebrate with us. And please feel free to let us know what you think about the magazine. After all, we wouldn’t have reached 1,000 issues without you.
While I’ve only been involved in the past 111 issues, I’m excited to discover what’s in store with the magazine right alongside our dedicated readers. The magazine will continue to evolve. But the purpose will always remain the same — to connect cooperative members with information that matters and celebrate the people, places and communities that make rural Illinois special.
A big thank you to the editors, writers, photographers, designers and cooperative communicators — past and present — who have filled these pages of the 1,000 editions of ICL. And thank you to our readers for bringing it into your home month after month. There are endless stories still to come.
