As a media company that lives and breathes in our 20+ local communities all over the country, we at Modern Luxury Media have seen firsthand the devastating impacts that COVID-19—not only on our own business, but also on our readers and clients. From the physical toll on so many to the economic health of small businesses, we stand united in these challenging times. We have taken internal measures, including pay reductions and temporary furloughs for many of our employees. These were each made after extensive deliberation and implemented to ensure long-term viability, rather than short-term survival. As leaders, we want to make clear to employees that we are shoulder-to-shoulder. As such, our CEO and Executive Chairman are each currently foregoing any pay, and our other top company leaders have taken large pay reductions.

Still, further action needed to be taken. During this unprecedented time, we like so many other owner-operated businesses found that traditional financing sources were unavailable to us. We are grateful for our elected officials and government leaders who recognized these widespread challenges and passed the bipartisan CARES Act and Paycheck Protection Program. Like numerous small businesses across the country, we received a portion of these funds, which are critical to the long-term success of our business and the continued employment of our incredible staff. This will allow us to save the livelihood of numerous employees who are passionate about what they do—whether it is creative, client-facing or administrative. We thank our employees and their families for all they have done over this time. We will emerge stronger from this, and look forward to continuing to build community and connection in each of our cities.