I am happy to announce that Bella has officially changed hands. It will be published in the future by Ladonna Armstrong and Tad Jones!
For those of you who asked about the status of the magazine during the past few weeks, April 26 was the magic day when the contract was signed, followed by a celebratory luncheon with the new owners at The Willcox.
Ladonna and Tad are partners in a new business called A Tad Creative Production, and Bella will be part of that new enterprise. It’s exciting to listen to their plans for the future!
Ladonna Armstrong
Born in Ft. Lauderdale and raised in Destin, Florida, Ladonna lived in Colorado for 15 years where she skied competitively and earned her architectural degree (BS with an emphasis in Environmental Design) from The University of Colorado at Boulder. A resident of Aiken now for 18 years, she has four daughters between the ages of 9 and 17. She has practiced architecture for more than 25 years, the last 15 at Hughes, Beattie, O’Neal, Law & Associates here in Aiken as Director of Marketing. On the personal side, she has a great love of event planning and working with nonprofits. Ladonna has served on boards and committees, volunteering for many organizations, including the Aiken Civic Ballet, the Aiken Center for the Arts, ADDA, Mead Hall (where she taught art), Girl Scouts, Younglife, First Baptist Church, the Aiken Horse Park Foundation, Dinner with Friends, and the SPCA.
In 2018, Ladonna launched Aiken Hattery, making fine artisan hats for women. Frequently seen around town sporting a hat, many of you probably know her as “The Hat Lady.” Her hat classes and avowed mission to “hat the world” have drawn much attention and she has many fans now wearing millinery creations made under her guidance. She told me she had been looking for “something creative and constantly changing that involves writing.” That certainly describes Bella! In addition, she said, “I look forward to sharing my life and the stories of Aiken and the surrounding area through the voice of Bella.” I can guarantee that she can fulfill all of those desires with her new magazine.
Tad Jones
Tad was born in Georgia and raised in North Carolina, then enlisted in the U.S. Army for 20 years. While in the Army, he graduated from many Enlisted Leadership Courses, earned a BS in Business Management, and also lost his Southern accent. When he left the service, he bought a farm in Taliaferro County, Georgia, because he was tired of moving around. However, challenges of the farm together with a new pitbull mix pet named Finnegan persuaded him otherwise. (For an entertaining story, ask Tad about what Finnegan managed to wreck on his farm.)
Until recently, Tad managed medical offices. He began at the Veterans Administration, and also handled other military and private practices at different times. Tad continued to look for jobs that had a greater creative element and started a successful business based on his lifelong hobby, photography. He told me he was attracted to the idea of buying the magazine because “Bella is already so closely aligned with what I want to do with and for Aiken. It has a solid reputation and a loyal following, people I want to connect with.”
Passing the Baton
Rob and I are very happy to pass Bella along to two young people who are energetic, enthusiastic, and creative. Right now they want to “keep Bella the same,” but we know they’ll add their own air to it, and all with our blessing. We encourage all of you to support Ladonna and Tad in building their own brand of Bella. Reach out to them when you see them around town. This magazine is part of their dreams to use their creativity and develop personal connections with the people and community of Aiken.
While I’m working with Ladonna and Tad during May on the Summer issue, it will be bittersweet knowing my magazine career is coming to an end. At the same time it will also be liberating; now I will have more time to pursue things on my bucket list!
Another Ciao Meaning
Back in February 2011, when I wrote my very first Ciao Bella column, I greeted readers with this a big Ciao Bella! – meaning “Hello Beautiful!” Well, ciao also means goodbye, as in “a word of greeting or parting; hello; goodbye; so long; see you later.” In that spirit, I will say “Ciao Bella!” (in the sense of “So long and see you later!”) to my excellent writers and columnists, with whom I have enjoyed working for more than eight years, and who have made Bella worth reading. Ciao Bella! to all my advertisers whose support made publishing Bella possible. Ciao Bella! to my expert graphic designer, Jim Stafford, whose talents and skills know no bounds. Ciao Bella! to “delivery guy” Chip, and several before him, and thanks for getting more than 300,000 copies of the magazine to the places where they belonged. Ciao Bella! to Meleah Powers, who has brought us into the 21st century through the website and social media. Ciao Bella! to my mentors and sources. Ciao Bella! to all the Bella Buzz contributors. Ciao Bella! to all of the people who posed for Scene Around Town photos. Ciao Bella! to all the subscribers! Ciao Bella! to all my faithful readers! You are all beautiful!!!
Bless all of you for your constant support of Bella and your unwavering encouragement. Meeting and working with the good people of Aiken has brought me such great joy! I have collected wonderful memories and still hope to make many new ones here. Thank you for taking me – and Bella – into your hearts and homes.
Ciao!
Kathy Huff Cunningham
