Bewleys make cheering a family affair

By SUSAN TEBBEN

GLASGOW — With the journalism industry constantly changing, some would say the struggle of starting a new publication isn’t worth the risk. Jamie Byrd and Drew Bewley are ready to take on the challenge, especially since they are starting a magazine that is all about encouragement and spirit.

“The Cheerleader Magazine” made its debut in January, the brainchild of former University of Kentucky cheerleader Drew and her business-oriented sister Jamie, both born and raised in Barren County.

It was an opportunity for Bewley to use her passion for cheerleading — she cheered for UK from 2005-2009 — and her writing experience to do work she’d enjoy, Byrd said. They think that even a magazine this specialized has the potential to bring a huge following.

“There are over 4 million cheerleaders in the world,” Byrd said. “It’s a niche market, but it’s a huge one, and there isn’t really a good cheerleading magazine out there. There certainly isn’t one in Kentucky.”

So earlier this year, after Bewley graduated from UK with a degree in journalism, the sisters started discussing, and laying out plans for the national magazine. “The Cheerleader Magazine” will cover all ages and all aspects of cheerleading, and it will include a feature in each issue recognizing five of the best squads in kindergarten through eighth grade, high school, college and internationally. This is not necessarily based on competition performance, but also effect in the community and service they have provided as a team.

Bewley and Byrd then compiled a staff of five contract workers, and have had many people express interest in contributing.

“I’ve seen a lot of kids get on board with this. They want to be involved in it because it’s cheerleaders writing about cheerleaders,” Byrd said.

Since they and their families were residents of Barren County, Byrd and Bewley wanted to make sure this magazine was kept local. With this in mind, the magazine is being printed by R.R. Donnelley, they have a technology support contact in Glasgow, and did some early advertising through sign companies in town. South Central Banking represents their finances.

“The people of Glasgow know us, they believe in us, so we wanted to do it locally,” Byrd said. The magazine has no centralized location and writers are from all over the country. The sisters live in Lexington now, but come back to visit family often. They have their mom to thank for at least part of their passion for the project. Teresa Bewley has coached cheerleaders since Jamie and Drew were children. Now that Jamie is married with a child of her own, other family members have been recruited in support of the sport.

Byrd is an engineer by day, but said juggling a day job, a family and starting a magazine isn’t the challenge people might think it is. Getting it off the ground was the hardest part.

“It’s not work when we work on the magazine,” Byrd said. It’s just an enjoyable bonding experience for the siblings, according to Bewley.

To get the word out about the magazine, the sisters and their staff went to cheer events across the country. They are going to events throughout January in Indianapolis, Florida and the University of Louisville before they made a stop in Glasgow to take a break with their family. They attended Kentucky Association of Pep Organization Sponsors competition at Barren County High School before moving on to Rhode Island, Atlanta, more competitions in Louisville, Bowling Green and Orlando. At the events they gave copies of the magazine to coaches and gyms while they sell subscriptions.

Subscriptions to The Cheerleader Magazine are $20 for five issues, but they are also having a deal in partnership with the new Cheer Channel (they will be turning the magazine content into video, Bewley said), offering 10 issues along with a $200 travel gift card for $40.

Five thousand copies of the first edition were sent to Byrd in Lexington, and they expect another 5000 to be sent out over next few weeks. They have about 300 presale subscriptions so far. After they get the word out, the sisters are prepared for this to become their full-time job, and have high hopes for it to be a contender in the magazine world.

“We expect this magazine to be big,” Byrd said. “Give it about three years and this will be THE cheerleading magazine.”

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