Print
WilmingtonBiz Magazine

Editor's Note: Coming-of-age Story

By Vicky Janowski, posted Jul 7, 2022
Vicky Janowski
Last year, I became the first person at the Business Journal to join AARP. I wore the card as a badge of honor. In the multigenerational makeup that is our office, at 44, I fall pretty much in the middle of the bell curve. The elders, whose names I’ll keep from throwing under the bus, poked fun while being secretly jealous of my newfound travel discounts and member tote bag.
 
I’m a generation in flux. Gen X is like the often-overlooked middle child. We don’t have a say in the current Gen Z/ millennials skirmishes. No one’s made us an insult hashtag a la #boomers.
 
Everyone pretty much just leaves us to our Reality Bites and Dinosaur Jr. nostalgia. (Though our greatest recent flex has been Top Gun: Maverick. You’re welcome, 2022; we knew you needed a win.)
 
But enough about our legitimate claims over this year’s Super Bowl halftime show. This is about you guys.
 
As you all know, the past couple of years has upended how people think of work and how best to work. The shifts in perspective, across all ages, have amped up discussions about how to communicate in teams that span the decades, particularly when it deals with recruiting and retaining talented people.
 
One thing I’ve noticed is that no matter the generation’s social media channel of choice, the common thread is connection – virtually, in-person, hybrid. The challenge is trying to figure out the best way to find the right formula for everyone.
 
All this comes to mind as we introduce a new project: Good Life Wilmington.
 
Good Life is geared toward the influx of retirees moving to the area or people scoping out where to land when it’s time to retire.
 
And as a – now-card-carrying – member of the sandwich generation, it’s also of personal interest as I learn more about caring for aging parents while also discovering how our family with two kids can live our best Wilmingtonian lives. (Click here, and you too can share in the wisdom.)
 
So, let us know what you think and what speaks, or doesn’t, to where you are on the generational bell curve.
 
And as Ethan Embry said in Empire Records – a Gen X classic, filmed on Front Street in Wilmington, by the way – “We mustn’t dwell … not on Rex Manning Day.”
Ico insights

INSIGHTS

SPONSORS' CONTENT
Untitleddesign5

The Role of Vulnerability in Leadership

John Monahan - Vistage
Jane

The Childcare Cost Dilemma

Jane Morrow - Smart Start of New Hanover County
Dave sweyer 300 x 300

Insights into the 2023 Leasing Market in Wilmington, NC: What You Need to Know

Dave Sweyer - Sweyer Property Management

Trending News

Conservation Group Signs $8M Deal To Buy The Point On Topsail Island

Audrey Elsberry - Mar 26, 2024

Rezoning Could Bring 123 Townhomes To Growing Leland Corridor

Emma Dill - Mar 25, 2024

N.C. Ports Officials React To Baltimore Bridge Collapse

Audrey Elsberry - Mar 26, 2024

Engineering Firm Hires Four Employees

Staff Reports - Mar 26, 2024

National Organization Bestows Top Award On Cape Fear Professional Women In Building

Staff Reports - Mar 26, 2024

In The Current Issue

Expanding Tastes On Castle Street

As John Willse and Beth Guertin, owners of Wilmington Wine bottle shop and now the recently opened Creative Tastings restaurant on Castle St...


Park Progress

The planning for Pender Commerce Park began in the early 2000s when the county wanted to create an economic driver on its largely rural west...


Topsail-area Realtors Share Updates

Pender County Realtors recently shared updates about the coastal market at an event hosted by the Wilmington-Cape Fear Home Builders Associa...

Book On Business

The 2024 WilmingtonBiz: Book on Business is an annual publication showcasing the Wilmington region as a center of business.

Order Your Copy Today!


Galleries

Videos

2023 Power Breakfast: Major Developments