Outlook Magazine Celebrates 20 Years 

Publisher’s note: When we decided to do a story about Edmond Outlook’s 20-year journey, my first thought was, Well, I’ve been here the whole time—I should probably write it. But after over a decade of working with Amy Dee Stephens and seeing her skill at capturing the heart of a story, I knew this one was better in her hands.

Outlook Magazine exists because of a designer named Dave Miller. His career has taken many directions—industrial design, illustration, writing, cartooning—but his love of storytelling has stayed the same. For 20 years, Dave has published Edmond Outlook every month, highlighting stories about everyday people living interesting lives.

The Rising Young Cartoonist

Dave earned a degree in industrial design from Rhode Island School of Design, but always freelanced cartoon illustration on the side while working in automotive design in Southern California. Regularly published work for The Santa Monica News eventually led him to the animation industry, where he became a storyboard director for Saturday morning cartoon shows. Tribune Media later nationally syndicated his comic strip DAVE, which was inspired by his life as a single twentysomething.

Suddenly a Family Man

After meeting and marrying Sandy, the couple moved to New England, and Dave worked as a senior designer for Hasbro Toys in Rhode Island. Then tragedy struck. “My sister-in-law died in a car accident in Chandler. She’d always said that if something happened to her, she wanted us to take care of her kids. So, we became parents to our two-year-old and five-year-old godchildren.”

As his syndication contract ended, Dave was laid off from Hasbro. Dave and Sandy took the opportunity to move the kids closer to family. “We moved to Prague, Oklahoma. When we pulled up in the U-Haul, we discovered a rodeo was located behind our house, and we could hear the announcer very clearly.” Dave laughed. “I embraced the culture, but I was definitely the only New Jersey guy in Prague.”

Building Edmond Outlook

In 2000, after a brief stint working for The Oklahoman building websites, Dave started Back40, a web design business serving Oklahoma businesses and non-profits. While visiting clients around the metro area, he discovered Edmond, which led to his move in 2004. “Edmond is where I wanted to live and raise my kids, and they didn’t have a community magazine. I thought, ‘Why not start one?’” Dave said. Putting together our first issue was easy because we had months and months to plan. For the future issues, we were on a strict 30-day schedule. It was tough, but we figured it out.

Living The Monthly Deadline

As the publisher, Dave is always thinking about the next month’s issue. He enjoys creative design, but advertising is what makes the stories and photos possible. “We have many long-time advertisers who like the magazine and see business results,” Dave said. “They make it possible for 50,000 Edmond homes to receive the Outlook in their mailboxes every month.”

In 2013, Dave introduced a column called “In Other Words With Dave.” It is a running storyline of Dave’s life experiences, complete with one of his cartoon drawings. “I’ve been transparent about my life. I’ve written about raising my granddaughter, my sobriety, my wife’s illness and death, my cancer, dating in my 50s, marrying Alison, and other everyday stuff from my life.”

After twenty years of monthly publishing, Dave reflects, “Print publishing hasn’t always been easy, but I find the creative process and the people very rewarding. We run a small team. Laura Beam manages sales. Anne Richardson develops the print production of ads and editorial design. My wife, Alison, handles the business side, and Kasey Toliver is our digital designer. Thanks to our talented writers, Amy Dee Stephens, Taylor Bollinger, and our longtime columnist Louise Tucker Jones, the magazine captures the heart and soul of the Edmond community and personalities as only Edmond locals can do. For photography assignments, we have the talented Marshall Hawkins of Sundance Photography. He’s been our go-to photographer for nearly 15 years. Amazing.”

Through the years, Back40 has continued to thrive, and Edmond Outlook has proudly published 240 issues. “The joy of creating far outweighs any challenges,” Dave says. “I’m deeply thankful to have built a career centered on sharing stories that inspire and connect people.”

Edmond Outlook Magazine can be read online at edmondoutlook.com.