Not only am I a travel nut, but I am also a voracious reader. One of the magazines I picked up recently is called Verge and I felt it really stood out from the crowd of travel magazines. The magazine's motto is "study - work - volunteer - travel" and it focuses on traveling with a purpose.

The magazine is unique in that it talks a lot about learning vacations and volunteer vacations. Once I explored their website I discovered that their primary target audience is young people who might want to take a year off university and focus on opportunities to study, work and volunteer abroad.

Jeff Minthorn is one of the two founders of the magazine; he has quite an interesting background and is no stranger to travel. He completed a degree in environmental studies and architecture and during university he took a year off and lived in Rome. He has traveled extensively throughout Europe and also worked in Antarctica.

Throughout his working life he has become involved in quite different endeavours. He ran his own design/build company, specializing in residential renovations. Later he took time off work and worked as a volunteer with special needs adults. He also worked as an outdoor wilderness guide and instructor.

Jeff and his friend Tannis sat down around 3 years ago over a cup of coffee and decided that they wanted to do something different. And so the idea for Verge Magazine was born. Jeff is one of those people who has successfully turned his dream into reality. About 6 months passed between that fateful conversation over coffee and the day when the first issue of Verge hit the newsstands in September of 2002.

Two and half years later Jeff has become an experienced publisher and editor of a unique publication, and I look forward to introduce him to you.