February From the Publisher

John M. Phillips

February marks a lot of personal and national anniversaries and celebrations. On February 2, we celebrate my oldest child’s 9th birthday. Nothing has changed my life more than his birth. My mother passed away just months before he was born and always promised, you won’t know love until you have a child of your own. She was never more right. It was also an amazing gift to me as my birthday is February 4th.

My wife and I met at a charity bachelor/bachelorette auction for Child Cancer Society which coincided with Valentine’s Day. The spark carried to an amazing partnership and friendship, and we love raising our family in Northeast Florida.

It’s Black History Month. Folio 2.0 and Phillips & Hunt coexist in the historic Greenleaf and Crosby building and we commissioned murals of civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Amanda Gorman, the inauguration poet who inspired us all with her passion and poise, saying, “For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.”

So many more were born and so many things happen in February. This month we celebrate love. Tying love and Black HistoryMonth together, I want to finish with a big happy birthday to JordanDavis, who would have turned 26 on February 16. It’s hard to believe it’s been just over 8 years since he left us. He passed the same year my son was born. Because my son taught me so much about love and Jordan taught me so much about loss, it will always be a reminder that life is fragile. Love is light. Love one another.