Editor's Notes
By Dan Goodgame/Managing Editor

(FORTUNE Small Business) – Ron Stodghill, a new senior editor at FSB, arrived when we were rushing to close the magazine and barely had time for introductions, much less orientation. But in characteristic fashion, Ron pitched in, helping us to better pace the stories and enliven the headlines. He acted like someone who has run a magazine--which he has, having served as editor-in-chief of Savoy, a monthly for affluent African Americans, until late last year, when it suspended publication for financial reasons. Ron did fine work at Savoy, recruiting talented journalists and doubling newsstand sales. At FSB he will divide his time between editing and writing. In this issue Ron edited the Part One section, while profiling a lawyer with a unique practice in Charlotte, a city Ron knows well. When the man described his offices, Ron asked, "Are you on North Tryon?" He was.

Ron, 40, grew up in Detroit, where his mother still lives. He studied journalism at the University of Missouri, not far from the St. Louis suburb where his father worked (and still works) as superintendent of schools. Ron's first job was at a daily paper in Pontiac, Mich., where he got what he and I agree is the ideal assignment for a young reporter: the night police beat. He saw some of the best and worst that people are capable of, and learned to recount their stories fast, fairly, and with flair. At the Charlotte Observer Ron got hooked on crafting the "great narratives you can tell of people in business"--a skill he honed at the Detroit Free Press and Business Week, writing cover stories on subjects that included Digital Equipment Corp. and Tiger Woods. In 1996, Ron co-authored No Free Ride with former NAACP chairman Kweisi Mfume, and he just finished work on Redbone, a book about the murder of a black computer-consulting entrepreneur in Atlanta. Two years ago Ron spent a year at Harvard on a prestigious Nieman fellowship.

Ron and I worked together for six years at Time magazine--he as bureau chief in Detroit and Chicago, I as an assistant managing editor. We collaborated on big stories about everything from Sammy Sosa to school shootings, and I found him a great teammate and road-trip companion. There's only one thing that worries me a bit about Ron: He dresses a lot more stylishly since his stint at Savoy. (Those cover shoots with Halle Berry seem to have had an effect.) Still, on balance, I'm thrilled to have Ron at FSB. If you have comments on his work in this issue, or anything else, please e-mail us at editor@fsb.com.

DAN GOODGAME