As springtime arrives on The Beach Coast, many of us are compelled to freshen things up a bit. You’ll see with this issue of your favorite online magazine that we’re in the same mode. We’ve made some changes we think you’ll enjoy and that will make TheBeachCoast.com even better for our readers and advertisers. And we’re all about that!

Let’s start with our new Beach Contests page (where you are right now). Our first photo contest for Beach Coast Pets was such a hit that we have had a photo contest going on ever since.  We decided to combine our Family events page with Arts & Entertainment (it will now be called Arts, Events & More) so that we can devote a whole page to our contests.

Other than the 95-degree heat of late August, there’s nothing more powerful than bouncing, giggling babies that turn Beach Coasters to mush. Seeing babies splash around in Lake Michigan, try to take topsy-turvy steps on our sandy shores and feed the huge flocks of seagulls at lunchtime all make Beach Coasters break out the baby talk! Since TheBeachCoast.com loves our Beach Coast babies, we want to find the cutest bundle of joy with a new contest.

From now until June 24^th, we invite you to submit a photo (only one, please) of your favorite Beach Coast baby or toddler (under two years old as of June 1st) to info@thebeachcoast.com (high resolution, .jpg format). We will post entries in the July issue and open up voting. The person whose entry receives the most votes will be announced in the August issue and will also win a great Beach Coast prize. Get out your camera and channel your inner Anne Geddes –TheBeachCoast.com has already drool-proofed our magazine and we want to see some babies!

Next, it is my privilege to announce the winner of the Beach Rides photo contest. Winning the most votes was the photo taken by Sandy Davis of Three Rivers, MI. Her favorite ride belongs to her daughter Lacy, the proud owner of a 1965 Mustang. Second place goes to Rod Hoeppner for his 1968 Pontiac GTO and third place to Jerry Schroll for his 1976 Corvette. We thank all of our entrants and all of our readers for voting. When voting for your favorite photo in any Beach Coast contest, you may vote as often as you wish and you are free to enlist your friends to vote along with you. Just remember, you must refresh every time you vote.

We also have a new tab on the Home page for Beach Deals. If you go back to the Home page and click on that tab you can read about all the details. This new page will give our advertisers the opportunity to advertise their special deals and real estate offerings and reach Beach Coast readers. 

As we see new opportunities to improve www.thebeachcoast.com we will continue to make changes. And, if you have any suggestions for us, please feel free to write us at info@thebeachcoast.com. We want to be the best we can be and welcome your input. Have a great summer and remember to tell your friends about TheBeachCoast.com™!

Barbara Voris Eastman
Editor