Conquest Graphics came through for us, once again, with a $2,500 Free printing grant! As fortune continues to smile upon us, we ventured into the second issue of Musicman Magazine to feature Men Who Pluck Strings! Three is the charm and our third issue of Musicwoman Magazine is magic! This is what we do with our grant, promote talented and often unsung sheroes and heroes in the music industry.

In 2014, when we won our first grant, we published the first Catalog of Women in Arts & Business. For three more years, we published this catalog that enabled us to earn income from advertisement. By 2019, we published the first issue of Musicwoman Magazine featuring some of our members stories. The second issue featured Seasoned Women Musicians and Young Lionesses. The third issue is about Women Who Pluck Strings. All of these women have weathered the storm of the male-dominated music industry to emerge as sirens of hope and joy.

The first issue of Musicman Magazine emerged quite naturally, following a jazz festival produced by one of our musical male members, Melton Mustafa, Jr. who brought us the stories of two dynamic duos for the second issue. All in all, the printing grant boosted our mission by 1000%. Our nonprofit is in its 14th year of promoting women musicians, globally. This grant helped us do that in a very big way and, now, we are able to promote men in music, as well.

The year of the pandemic, 2020 presented insurmountable challenges for people, worldwide. Musicians had to throw on their amazing technicolor dream coats and wave their wands to make music through Zoom, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Their Tales from the Dusty Trail will catapult these publications into a long-lasting shelf life. Aside from the musicians highlighted in these magazines, we salute the writers who contributed the articles and interviews. They hail from the East to the West Coast of North America and from Italy, Sweden, Serbia, and China.

This generous printing grant from Conquest Graphics enabled us to brand our company, Women in Jazz South Florida, Inc. in a publication that was 10 years in the making. This grant brought our dream to fruition. Now, we can gather more stories and anecdotes for future issues. Meanwhile, members get to enjoy these publications as a benefit of their membership. Non-members get the magazine for a nominal fee that keeps our earnings flowing.

People in the U.S., Europe, and China have enjoyed the read and some joined us in our quest to promote women musicians, globally, by sharing Musicwoman Magazine with their family and friends. Each issue engrosses our readers in the stories, while shining a light on musical icons - women and men who have stood the test of time in the world of classics, jazz, blues, and R&B.

We appreciate the opportunity to uncover talent that many people have overlooked. Without our printing grants for the past seven years, our work would not have been as poignant and memorable. A picture paints a thousand words, and the pen is a mighty sword. Our publications show the world who the unsung stars are. We have Conquest Graphics to thank for that privilege.