The title to this column is a famous line from the song “Karn Evil 9” by the band ELP. While it may date me some, I thought it (and the whole concept) appropriate for this, my first editorial at Floor Trends.

First, I just want to personally thank everyone who emailed, called, messaged me on LinkedIn or Facebook, with their congratulations and well wishes. I cannot tell you how truly appreciative I am for all your kind words and thoughts of encouragement. I was completely humbled by your response—and for those who know me that is not an easy thing to do.

To the many people who do know me, let me just say nothing has changed but the information on my business card. I remain true to what I was at my previous job and promise the qualities and reasons that brought me here are still intact.

Now, for those who do not recognize me and are wondering who the new guy is, let me give you a quick background. I have been reporting on and covering the flooring industry for nearly 20 years. All of that time was spent at Floor Covering News, and for many of those years I was in charge of running the day-to-day editorial and production of the magazine.

For more than 17 of those years, I had the privilege of being mentored by the iconic Industry Hall of Famer Al Wahnon, who founded FCNews in 1986 after spending 31 years running Floor Covering Weekly.

Now, I have the distinct honor to be in charge of the magazine whose roots go back to Al’s contemporary and best friend, and the only other journalist inducted in the Industry Hall of Fame, Howard Olansky, who passed away in late 2006, five years before Al. Fortunately, I not only knew Howard but the two of us had developed a friendship over the years.

Which brings us to the present and, to some extent, the future. Floor Trends has a long, rich history—there was time when it was, hands down, the industry’s No. 1 monthly magazine—and I intend to bring that back. It’s both a challenge and opportunity, but it will happen.

Not because of me, I can’t do it alone, but because we have a dedicated, talented staff who cares about this industry and believes in bringing you the best information possible to help you run your businesses successfully.

We have some exciting, and some not so exciting, changes in the works. Some will be obvious, some will be subtle, some will take time to develop, but they are all geared around you, our readers.

But we can’t do it without you. Regardless of all the technology out there this industry was and still is all about the people. From the person who first designs the product all the way to the person who installs it. Few industries can say there are people involved at every level and phase—flooring is one of them.

So help us help you. We need—and want—your input; we want to hear from you. This is your magazine; take ownership.

To finish where I started, a little more from ELP: “Come inside, the show’s about to start…Rest assured you’ll get your money’s