In all of my traveling over the years, I have never been to a city that has more beautiful women than right here in Fort Worth, Texas.
My assessment was confirmed recently when I read a story in Men's Health magazine that ranked Fort Worth second in the nation behind only Honolulu in prettiest females per capita in the United States.
Why are people afraid to talk about a woman's outer beauty today? I, for one, appreciate beautiful women, and I'm not ashamed to say so. My wife is the most beautiful person I know. True beauty is, of course, more than skin deep. If my wife weren't beautiful on the inside, our relationship would have been short lived.
Our cover story on the Most Beautiful Women in Fort Worth is simply a confirmation of what we all know - Fort Worth is filled with beautiful women.
How did we come up with the top 10? A few months ago, Fort Worth, Texas magazine readers were asked to go on our Web site - fwtx.com -to nominate women of all ages whom they thought were the most beautiful in Fort Worth from the inside out. Hundreds of women were nominated, plus we threw in a few candidates of our own.
Utilizing the number of Web site votes by our readers, combined with three pictures of each nominee and a completed questionnaire, we narrowed our list down to the top 20 semi-finalists. These 20 were then brought in for face-to-face interviews. We then photographed them in our studio and shot a video of each of them. All of this was posted on our Web site for voting.
The results of our very subjective, nonscientific process are on the cover you hold in your hands. What makes these women beautiful, however, is more than the perfect smile or lovely hair. You may or may not agree with our choices for the top 10, but after reading each of their bios, you cannot deny that these women are undeniably beautiful beyond their hair and makeup.
When we put the Most Beautiful Women in Fort Worth story on the calendar last year, as the publisher, I was excited by the concept and at the same time a bit anxious about reader push back. I was excited because one of my main objectives is to generate stories that generate reader interest. My anxiety came because this topic is so subjective. I mean, how do you really quantify beauty? How does one measure something that is immeasurable?
Sure enough, during the process of voting, we had some negative feedback from readers who told us they thought the idea of doing this story was "cheesy." Others accused our editorial staff of being sexist.
On the other hand, in May when the majority of the final voting took place, our Web site had 136,485 unique visitors, and there were more than 15,000 Most Beautiful video views.
In making a final decision on whether to move forward with making this the cover story, I reviewed the magazine's mission statement. Part of the statement is as follows: Our objective is "discovering what is unique about Fort Worth and its people, challenging conventional wisdom when necessary and bestowing praise when deserved. We strive to enlighten, inform and entertain our readers." I believe this story, while controversial because of its subjectivity, fulfills our mission. With this confirmation, we moved forward. I hope you enjoy the story.
Another story of interest in this issue on page 58 is Jennifer Casseday-Blair's story Buzz Kill about the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission under fire. Jennifer is the magazine's managing editor, and in her earlier years she was a Fort Worth bartender for more than a decade. She brings a great bit of insight to this revealing topic. Finally, just in time for summer, our lake home retreats story, Life on the Waterfront, on page 64 is sure to get you in the mood for a warm weekend on the lake.
Hal A. Brown
owner/publisher
