Lora Lee has over 25 years of experience in publishing. She purchased POND Trade in 2013 and has been thrilled with her new job ever since. As publisher, she is tasked with a few “minor responsibilities” that include organizing the content schedule, recruiting writers, acquiring articles, selling ads and designing the magazine. In her PPT (Pre-POND Trade) life, Lora Lee worked as an art director, marketing manager and art department supervisor for multiple trade magazines. She spends many hours in her garden and has been featured on garden walks. There is now a pond amidst the flowers. You never knew how much you would enjoy a pond until you have one. Now she can’t imagine life without one. Lora Lee is married and has one son. She lives in the Chicagoland area and her only regret is not being able to enjoy her garden and pond year round!

January/February 2019 Issue

By Lora Lee Gelles / December 31, 2018 / 0 Comments

Yahoo! It’s 2019. Happy New Year! At the stroke of midnight, I was thinking of all the resolutions I will make in 2019 — NOT. Whether you’re a resolution person or not, I know one thing that’s on the minds of all pond professionals’ minds out there: more ponds in 2019! Here at POND Trade, […]

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November/December 2018 Issue

By Lora Lee Gelles / October 31, 2018 / 0 Comments

Got your attention with that headline, I bet! As I was finishing up designing this issue, I came to the “final” page, page 66 (see image, right), which shows a beautiful photo with the catch phrase “Time to Reflect.” Now that the leaves are falling, colder weather is setting in (at least for us up […]

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Recap | Atlantic Professional Conference 2018

By Lora Lee Gelles / October 29, 2018 / 0 Comments

  Ahh, my first Atlantic Professional Conference! I would call this one short, but sweet. It started on a Wednesday, and unfortunately, I missed the business coaching with Yolanda Ortiz of Corazon Business Coaching. The buzz among Atlantic contractors was that her team-building exercise on how to effectively communicate and how to plan for long-term […]

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Round Three of the Water Artisans of the Year Awards

By Lora Lee Gelles / August 31, 2018 / 0 Comments

Fall is in the air, so it’s time to start netting those ponds to keep out all the falling leaves. At least we’ll start getting some more moderate temperatures to make the pondside experience all the more comfortable. It just so happens that fall also marks the start of the entry period for our Water […]

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July/August 2018 Issue

By Lora Lee Gelles / June 30, 2018 / 0 Comments

Anthony Archer-Wills is in the house! I met Anthony and his lovely wife Pauline last year at the IWGS symposium in Pennsylvania. I sat next to them at dinner, and I went out on a limb and asked him if he would be willing to write an article for us. To my delight, his answer […]

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May/June 2018 Issue

By Lora Lee Gelles / May 1, 2018 / 0 Comments

For me, springtime is the most wonderful time of the year. Everything feels so renewed when the trees bud, the flowers emerge, and most importantly, water begins to flow through our ponds again! But this spring, as I write my column, my dog is snuggled up, snoring loudly at my feet. There’s a dusting of […]

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March/April 2018 Issue

By Lora Lee Gelles / March 1, 2018 / 0 Comments

I love a winner and think you will, too. Our Water Artisans of the Year issue [link] is quickly becoming one of my favorite issues of the year. It blows me away to see all the talent out there. I get the honor of reviewing and sorting out all the submissions so the judges can […]

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January/February 2018 Issue

By Lora Lee Gelles / December 29, 2017 / 0 Comments

I’m not much of a list person. My son is, though. Every year since he was about 10 years old, he makes a “top 10” list of his favorite songs and albums over the past year. I guess he’s rubbing off on me, because now I have an urge to create a “top 10” list […]

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November/December 2017 Issue

By Lora Lee Gelles / November 1, 2017 / 0 Comments

It is hard to believe that this is the last issue of 2017. Where has the time gone this year? It seems like we were just wrapping up our overwintering cover story (“Chill Out!” January/February 2017) from last winter. And here we are, bracing for the end of this year’s pond season. Before we get […]

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September/October 2017 Issue

By Lora Lee Gelles / August 31, 2017 / 0 Comments

Right about this time of year, our team here at POND Trade starts planning articles for the year ahead. As I was sitting back forming a list (oh yes — I love my lists!), an idea came to me. We get so many requests for information through our website in response to our articles. The […]

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