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Home > About ArkLaTex Food
About ArkLaTex Food
INTRODUCING ARKLATEX FOOD: ArkLaTexFood.com and its sister online publication, ArkLaTexNews.com, were many years in the making and launched under the direction of Executive Editor Randa Thornton-Mason (see biography below) on May 4, 2019. The concept was initially developed in 2015 with the idea of establishing a news organization for the ArkLaTex region including Northeast Texas, Southwest Arkansas, North Louisiana and Southeast Oklahoma.
OUR GOAL: The ArkLaTex has a population of more than 1 million people, and the cuisine in our region has been described as unique and inventive. These special qualities derive from the blending of our cultures and recipes within our Four States area which covers a vast geographic area.
REACHING OUT TO THE COMMUNITY: To fairly review ArkLaTex restaurants and provide news about ArkLaTex area food, we decided to create local "hubs" by city and state. This allows us to produce "hyperlocal" or "very local" food news for the important communities of our region.
FOOD MATTERS: Above all else, we wanted to be sure we effectively report on food and drink in the ArkLaTex. Although we will discuss food trends, home cooking and even things like the best frozen foods, our main goal is to highlight local eateries of every variety. The ArkLaTex is home to high quality restaurants in all price ranges, and we want to showcase them.
HASSLE-FREE, BUSINESS-FRIENDLY ADVERTISING: We want to provide exceptional value to local businesses. Therefore, we're offering $99 per month teaser ads along with other discounts on advertising packages through February 2021. Plus, there's no contract to sign on ArkLaTexFood.com. Click here to advertise now for best placement. Space is limited.
ARKLATEX FOOD AND THE WAY FORWARD: Our mission is simple: We want to provide relevant and interesting news about restaurants and food in our ArkLaTex region. We also want people in other areas of the ArkLaTex (and beyond) to learn more about the food of our region. Our ultimate goal is to promote local commerce, expand food opportunities, and, of course, lead our readers to their next fabulous ArkLaTex meal.
Randa Thornton-Mason
ABOUT OUR EDITOR
Randa Thornton-Mason has a lengthy history of community service and business activity in the Ark-La-Tex. Before coming here, she attended Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas and worked as a bank and corporate retail auditor. As the wife of a US serviceman, she was employed in Germany by American Express Bank. After making a decision to establish roots in the Ark-La-Tex, Mrs. Thornton-Mason served as PTA president for area elementary and junior high schools. An avid painter, she was also named Cultural Arts Chairman for Texarkana ISD schools. For more than seven years, she served as director for a local ministry with five buses that brought children from Texas and Arkansas to church services and functions. She also wrote a weekly newsletter column about her experiences. In business, Mrs. Thornton-Mason served on the Board of Directors of Central Mall for more than 15 years. She owned and managed a Christian bookstore for over two decades and owned a seasonal Christmas store for 15 years. She also held and operated a James Avery jewelry franchise for more than two decades until James Avery retired from franchising and she retired from business in the early 2000s. Mrs. Thornton-Mason later worked as a business development consultant to help international Christian bookstores in Europe achieve better marketing and product distribution. She also helped operate annual international conventions in Amsterdam. On the internet, Mrs. Thornton-Mason distinguished herself in the mid-1990s by becoming a full partner of a top national Christian retail website that still successfully operates today. Although she humorously describes herself as somewhat of a technophobe, she also helped create and finance other websites in the 1990s which were later acquired and merged with other companies. She looks forward to using her years of experience in business, community service, journalism and the arts to fulfill her new mission of bringing local news, information and increased visibility to our Ark-La-Tex region.
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