A fond farewell to ad and layout specialist, Sarah Kanar | The Homepage

By Juliet Martinez

Sarah Kanar twisting balloons at Light Up Night 2022. Photo by Heather Mull

Working on this issue of The Homepage has been a little bit sad. The April issue is the last one The Homepage's wonderful ad and layout specialist, Sarah Kanar, will work on with me. She is leaving Hazelwood Initiative to become the marketing communications coordinator for a local education nonprofit. This is a great step for her, and I know she is going to continue to do good work in the world.

Sarah's official title here was program assistant. Beyond managing ad contracts and laying out the paper, she has helped with a host of other programs and efforts since starting here as a Public Ally intern in 2019.

You may have interacted with Sarah when you bought an ad, or at a neighborhood event where she was twisting balloons into truly astonishing creations. I've seen her make all kinds of animals, hats and even Disney princesses out of balloons, much to the delight of the children and adults who received them.

In addition to her creativity and design skills, she has an upbeat personality and can-do attitude that makes working with her an absolute joy.

Tiffany Taulton and Sarah Kanar at Seldom Seen greenway in March, 2023. Photo by Tiffany Taulton

Sarah has taught me a lot about design. She has also gamely tried all the design changes I have experimented with in The Homepage. She has caught my mistakes many times and her keen eye has saved you, dear Reader, from countless cut-off captions and other annoyances.

While I do not relish the idea of working on the paper without her, I know she is going to do bigger and better things. I will be watching and cheering her on all the way.

Best of luck, Sarah. Knock 'em dead and don't be a stranger!

Juliet Martinez is the managing editor of The Homepage.