For 10 years, EVOLVE Magazine has highlighted business and economic growth across the region, documenting the challenges and opportunities faced by organizations and local governments and shining a light on success. Along the way the publication, true to its name, has changed and evolved, expanding its coverage to include communities from the First Coast to the Space Coast.  

The story of EVOLVE Magazine, however, began well before the first issue was printed. 

Forty years before EVOLVE Magazine publisher Howard Holley had the idea of a magazine dedicated to economic development and business success, he was the publisher of a directory of Black-owned businesses in New York City called “The Black Pages.” The publication ended its run with a special bicentennial issue in 1976 as the recession of the early 1970s roiled the economy. It would be another three decades before Holley returned to publishing, in the meantime carving out a corporate career with Xerox. 

Retiring in 2009 as a senior vice president of Xerox, Holley was looking to build on his experience in communication services. 

“I had a unique expertise in customer experience and wanted to help smaller businesses, to include, minorities, women, historically Black colleges and universities, and community colleges” he said. “I’ve got this DNA that most people don’t have and I wanted to bring it to these communities.” 

Living now in Palm Coast, Holley was asked to join the Flagler County Chamber of Commerce and serve on the board of directors, focusing on economic development. Already working as publisher of magazines for colleges including Kent State University in Ohio, Salem State in North Carolina and the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, Holley was asked to create a magazine for the Flagler Chamber, launching the magazine “Thrive.” 

“We go from scratch. We launch it,” he said, moving a step closer to what would become EVOLVE Magazine. 

While publishing the Flagler Chamber publication, Holley was approached by the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce to produce a magazine with them.  

The concept was to tell the story of how Daytona Beach had changed from a Spring Break destination for college students to a growing, economically diverse community. 

“Because Daytona was evolving, that’s where the name came from. Nancy Keefer, Janet Kersey and I were brainstorming and all felt that EVOLVE best described the aspirations of the business community,” Holley said. “It was about solving a communication problem.” 

After taking four or five years to establish EVOLVE in Daytona Beach and Volusia more broadly, Holley and the Daytona Chamber parted ways. 

“We could never get enough energy going to get a flywheel that we could at least break even,” he said. “So, we determined that the only way to sustain the magazine would be to expand into other markets.” 

That led to an evolution of the magazine with an expansion to Palm Coast and eventually further north to St. Johns County. As EVOLVE Magazine was finding its footing covering a wider area, the world was facing the COVID-19 pandemic.  

“The pandemic really almost did us in,” Holley said. “That required a real radical shift in strategy. There’s no discussion about that and how we did survive it except that it was because of Halifax Health and Team Volusia.” 

The two corporate entities were strong partners with the magazine, believed in the value it brought to economic prosperity, and have continued to play a prominent role in the publication’s sustainability. 

John Guthrie, vice president and executive director of the Halifax Health Foundation, said partnering with EVOLVE was good for the organization and the wider community. 

“It’s helped Halifax Health show up as an engaged community partner and share how healthcare connects to workforce, growth and quality of life,” he said. “EVOLVE also gives us a consistent way to celebrate the leaders who move this region forward, starting with Gary Harris on the first cover and including people like Preston Root, Bob Davis and so many more.” 

Guthrie’s involvement with the magazine went beyond support as a partner and has played a role in the evolution of the publication. He was integral in assembling an editorial advisory board comprised of area business leaders and organizations. 

“It was essential,” he said of the advisory board. “Business leaders help shape jobs, investment and the culture of innovation that makes our community thrive. Their perspective kept EVOLVE grounded in real-world priorities and ensured the magazine would recognize results and leadership, not just talk.” 

For Keith Norden, president and CEO at Team Volusia, the relationship with EVOLVE as one of the original founders was an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the business successes fueling the region’s growth.

“Partnering with EVOLVE has been beneficial and productive for Team Volusia EDC,” he said. “Our organization sits on the Editorial Board, working alongside business leaders to identify and discuss relevant subject matter across leadership, organizations and industries. Each year when Team Volusia hosts dozens of site visits by prospective companies exploring Volusia County locations, our site visit kits include the latest edition of EVOLVE magazine, promoting the vision and vibrancy of our welcoming business community.”

Norden said a public/private partnership, Team Volusia works with Volusia County and its municipalities along with private companies, utilities, area colleges and other organizations and getting the word out about the region helps attract new business development.

“An important element in our business recruitment efforts is communicating what it’s like to live and work here,” he said. “Team Volusia regularly presents at municipal citizens academies and hosts the bi-monthly Practitioners Council, which convenes economic development professionals across the county, municipalities, utilities, education and workforce partners to give and get updates from Team Volusia and each other.”

With a measure of financial stability, EVOLVE underwent yet another evolution with the creation of EVOLVE News, a digital publication offering readers news and information about the local economy and businesses that was unavailable anywhere else. 

“There is a communication desert in these three counties, particularly with regards to business,” Holley said. “But a magazine that’s once a quarter isn’t touching that community frequently enough to meet its needs.” 

Launched first as a digital newsletter as “The Rundown,” what would become EVOLVE News bolstered the coverage of important issues affecting businesses and the community. 

For Guthrie, the creation of news publication was the next logical step in the evolution of the magazine. 

“Local government decisions shape the conditions for growth and many of the drivers of community health, from infrastructure to housing to public safety,” he said. “The ‘Economic Watch’ feature created a regular place to track those decisions and encourage informed, constructive engagement.  There was a vacuum of local and truly relevant business news that people need to know.” 

EVOLVE managing editor Elesha Mavrommatis has been at the magazine’s helm since 2017 and said the publication’s tone and focus has changed over the past 10 years. 

“When I first started with the magazine, our goal was to connect with a broad audience,” she said. “We created content for small and mid-sized business owners, as well as organizational leaders and middle managers. Over time, that focus became more defined. We narrowed our audience to serve industry and community leaders and entrepreneurs  

—those actively shaping the direction of our region. This shift was reflected in the evolution of our tagline, from Business and Professional Magazine to Business and Entrepreneur Magazine to Shining a Light on Success.” 

Mavrommatis said the magazine’s mission of “Shining a Light on Success” gives the publication its own unique niche in a crowded publishing ecosystem. 

“We highlight stories of economic growth across the First Coast and Space Coast, with a focus on progress that also preserves and enhances quality of life,” she said. “That kind of storytelling is pretty unique here. Each issue centers on a theme and looks at it from different angles—sharing new perspectives on familiar organizations while also spotlighting those doing meaningful work that may not be widely known.” 

As the digital world grows larger and with more and more publications are vying for attention on peoples’ screens, EVOLVE Magazine – along with special publications from EVOLVE Communications Group – are increasing their focus on a print audience exhausted by full email boxes.  

“Publishing, in general, is a challenge – but I think, in a world of digital overload, print stands out,” Mavrommatis said. “People enjoy the experience of holding something tangible in their hands while continuing to have access to digital when wanted.”