Editor in Chief Jeremy White Celebrates 25 Years with Pizza Today

A quarter century has flown by in the blink of an eye. I hope you’ll indulge this brief trip down memory lane with me. I’m a bit emotional as I write this Commentary. You see, I began my career at Pizza Today 25 years ago today.

I was just a baby, so to speak. Twenty-four years old and somehow, some way found my way to Pizza Today. I’d been working as a sports reporter and then sports editor at three different daily newspapers since graduating college, but my dream was to enter the world of magazines.

I loved everything about magazines back then. Still do. The word “magazine” begins with the letters “m-a-g” because magazines are, well, magical. They have the power to transform lives.

When a tiny little publication based in New Albany, Indiana, (at that time) was hiring, I decided to apply. I wanted to relocate to the Louisville, Kentucky, area anyway to be close to family and to raise my own family (that I did not yet have) there. And it was a magazine job!

To my surprise, I somehow sweet-talked my way into the gig. I wasn’t qualified, per se, but I had gumption. They took a chance on the kid, and my education and deep-dive into the pizza industry began. What I lacked in knowledge and experience (and that was plenty), I somehow made up for with diligence, a passion for learning and a desire to always improve.

I planned to keep the job for two years and then move on to a “bigger and better” magazine. Ideally in sports.

Senior Creative Director Josh Keown (left) and Editor in Chief Jeremy White work in the test kitchen at Pizza Today HQ in 2010. Photo courtesy of Josh Keown

Then, something happened. I fell in love with the pizza industry. I met amazing people at Pizza Expo who became lifelong mentors and, eventually, friends. I started to care. Deeply. Like really care. I started to understand I had the power to help real people run their businesses and improve their lives. I was hooked.

Looking back now, we can agree it has worked out OK.

I ended up getting that offer to jump to a “bigger and better” magazine – and it was a sports magazine. The pay was better. I would either “get to” or “have to” move to a “bigger and better” city, depending on your point of view.

But it was too late. I was no longer a writer and editor. I was a pizza person.

Though I do not personally make pizza for a living, when someone I don’t know asks me what I do, I tell them I’m in the pizza industry. Because I am. And I’ve loved every minute of the 25 years I’ve spent here.

I will turn 50 this month (how???), but believe me when I tell you I am just getting started. That’s how I’m built.

What’s next? Something big and exciting. And I can’t wait to share the news soon. Until then, THANK YOU for indulging my self-absorbed column this month. THANK YOU for all the support you, dear Pizza Today reader, have shown me in the 25 years I’ve been with this great magazine. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

With love and gratitude,

Jeremy White

Editor In Chief