By John Hayden
Publishing 100 consecutive months is an impressive feat. But OutClique isn’t just celebrating quantity, it’s celebrating quality. And there’s no doubt–there is a lot of celebrating.
Longtime writers, brand ambassadors, distributors, artists, sponsors and fans gathered at the home of Marc Martorana and his husband Don D’Arminio in Wilton Manors. The couple, who have been on OutClique’s cover, said they were showing their appreciation for what this publication means to the community.
“It’s a great contribution to the community,” Martorana said. “It’s well produced. It’s an opportunity for local businesses to advertise in.”
D’Arminio agrees.
“It’s an important publication for our city,” D’Arminio, who sits on Wilton Manors City Commission, said. “We’re all about community support.”
On this night, the community supported OutClique and its founder and publisher: Dr. Steven O. Evans.
“I never thought our little project would bloom into something like this. I love being part of the community. The medical community, the arts community. Creating the community we’ve built is just amazing,” he said.
Dr. Evans has a deep and varied resumé with vast educational and professional accomplishments. But none of them even remotely resembled publisher. But now people were here to fete him for a remarkable achievement.
“I was here before OutClique was what it is today,” said longtime Brand Ambassador Arnie Cuarenta. “It’s a print magazine when everything is going digital. It’s great. People are picking up our magazine and reading the articles.”
You can always spot Arnie by his fierce and unique hats. Each one has a story and Arnie is a great and happy member of the team.
But between the open bar and the amazing buffet prepared by Martorana, there were some tears of joy and love. Dr. Evans stood to thank everyone who is or has been a part of the team. Two of them are very special to him and the team.
“The two most important people who are here and make it work are Dalton and Connie Evans. If you know my parents, you know they are amazing. We built everything ourselves, and we built it honestly,” he said.
Connie is also OutClique’s copy editor. Her sharp eye never misses anything.
“She’s read almost every single article since the first day. It’s that ‘Mom Approved’ stamp that makes it special.”
In the end, Dr. Evans said the love he’s received makes all the hard work worth it.
“Everyone here is what makes it so fun and so rewarding the people that are in my phone are worth more than anything in my bank account,” he said. “I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
D’Arminio said the community is behind OutClique.
“We love Steven and the work he does. We want to make sure his work continues. We want to see you get to 1,000. We’ll be hosting the 1,000th issue party, too.”
