Karla Allen and Paula Sorie met when they both worked at MJ Soffee. Eventually, they both left the company to pursue their fortunes elsewhere but the two women stayed in touch.
“Paula called me out of the blue one day with an idea,” said Allen. “We met and she said ‘I want to do a local magazine with a focus on women.’ We talked for several hours that day.”
Women’s View hit the streets in August 2007. For more than seven years, Allen and Sorie published the monthly magazine hoping to inspire, inform and engage the women in the greater Fayetteville area.
“It’s always been a work in progress,” said Allen. “It’s literally been a two-woman show all this time. It was me and Paula doing the graphics, the layout, the editorial, the marketing, the distribution — all of it. And it’s been good. But we are ready to take it to the next level.”
Covering everything from healthy living to parenting, education and professional issues, Women’s View is set to refocus and really showcase what the Fayetteville area has to offer women. The magazine was previously delivered to seven counties, but starting in January 2015, the focus of the publication is significantly and intentionally being narrowed to the women of Fayetteville, Cumberland County and Fort Bragg.
“In 2015, one of the biggest changes is that we are going to focus on women in the community who have made an impact. From volunteers to executives, it may not always be high-profile people, but there are so many wonderful women who give selflessly to the community. We really want to tell their stories here,” said Allen.
Along with the change in focus, the publication will now be known as Fayetteville’s Women’s View. The content, color and size will all be the same, although readers may see some slight changes.
“After all, why reinvent the wheel?” said Allen. “We are not going to over-tweak what has already been successful. We want to keep the quality of our content. We are adding a calendar of events. It won’t be focused on all events in community, though. It will be focused on women’s events. We have a legal section we are bringing back, too. We are also adding some fun new features like a horoscope section and a puzzle section.”
The website will see some updating, too. After almost eight years, Allen said it is time for a new look. Check in after the New Year to see what changes are in store.
“We want to put out a quality product that women can pick up, go through and recognize other women in our community as columnists and positive forces working for the greater good. And we want women to feel good about what they pick up to read and to share it with others in the community.”
Find out more about Fayetteville’s Women’s View at http://womensviewnc.com.