It’s Our Anniversary!
by Michelle James
Photos by Sarah Griffin

When you pick up a Women of New Braunfels Magazine, it is pretty safe top say that fish don’t cross your mind but this is exactly what brought partners Martha Dixon and Traci Chudej together. Traci and Martha met while working for Cibolo based Jungle Laboratories, a company manufacturing products for - that’s right - fish. The journey of these two women is nothing short of amazing.
Martha was the graphic designer and Traci was the marketing and promotions assistant. “I essentially was Martha’s assistant. Definitely the low man on the totem pole!” says Chudej. “During Traci’s interview, I thought great a ‘cheerleader’,” says Dixon. Although not fast friends, Martha and Traci both admit they admired the others’ work. “Martha is a very talented designer. No doubt about it,” says Chudej. When Traci met Agape Day Spa owner Amy Rutherford, she recommended Martha for design work. “I was at Agape for my first laser treatment and Amy and I chatted about marketing through the whole thing.”
Dixon began working with Rutherford to develop Agape Day Spa’s marketing. Dixon says, “One day Amy said ‘I want to start a magazine and I want you to design it.’ I was like ‘OK!’” Wanting to ensure the magazine succeeded, Dixon asked Traci to consult and offer sales and marketing experience. “Traci understood the women of New Braunfels, she was head of PTA and involved in the community, she offered a strong knowledge of the area and the people,” said Martha. These three wasted no time. Nights were spent brainstorming after work, talking to the community and planning. “I think Martha and Amy wanted to kill me because I wanted to plan,” says Chudej. And plan they did. The circle was brought together in October, and by November they were officially Adonai Media, LLC. “There is no doubt about it, for me this was God all the way. I finally understood why I took the job at Jungle and what God meant for me to do,” says Chudej.
The girls waited almost a year to see those late nights payoff. In September 2006 at the New Braunfels Business to Business Trade Show, Women of New Braunfels magazine premiered.
“I was scared. I was afraid no one would like it,” said Dixon. “Yeah,” interjects Chudej, “I was a nervous wreck. I was afraid people would laugh, or worse, not even pick it up. Amy was the youngest of all of us, but she seemed the most experienced. She was calm and handled the only crisis that came our way with style that I will never forget.”
What seemed to be the perfect partnership was well on its way, except God stepped in. In November, one year after they began, it was clear that God had very different plan for one partner, Amy Rutherford.
“Amy didn’t have as much time for the magazine as we did, due to her calling,” Dixon said.
Rutherford had graduated from Texas State University and she had been called into the ministry. November second was a bittersweet day for all three girls, as Rutherford exited the partnership and trusted Dixon and Chudej with what she had literally birthed.
This month Women of New Braunfels celebrates their one year anniversary in print.
“I can’t believe how great it is and how we have grown,” said Dixon. “The first issue we only had 18 advertisers and struggled to fill 36 pages. Today, I struggle to fit it all in and we have added 8 pages since that first issue.” These women have seen big changes this year; the most exciting has been the response. “I was out to dinner with my husband and two boys when the April issue came out. I looked over and saw women reading the magazine and heard one of them comment, ‘These girls have made it, this is really good!’ I just sat there and cried. I was so grateful and blessed in that moment that all I could do was praise God,” said Chudej.
It might be easy for Chudej and Dixon to sit back and be content with what they have, but not these two. The girls plan to expand into other publications and other areas. Chudej explains, “We hope to take this dynamic tool for women to other areas, offering a place for women to get to know each other and be inspired by one another, developing business relationships and friendships along the way.” Chudej also adds, “This isn’t the day of our grandmothers. Today we can do anything, be anything and be successful while we are at it.”
Future plans for Dixon and Chudej include growing the public relations and marketing side of Adonai Media, LLC. Combined, Traci, Martha and Liza Stockwell (account manager) have over 44 years of experience. Dixon says, “Most importantly we offer designs and elements often only found in larger markets like Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio.” Chudej adds, “We also understand that New Braunfels is rich in its heritage, and while supporting the overwhelming growth, desperately wants to preserve the history and tradition in this community.” Dixon says, “We may not be Dallas or Houston, but we can provide the same style within a New Braunfels budget.”
Adonai Media, is more than Women of New Braunfels magazine, offering website design, complete marketing programs, event coordination, promotions, public relations, copy writing and scripts for commercials tailored to each business with a complete knowledge of the New Braunfels market.
Today, Martha Dixon doesn’t punch a time clock at Jungle anymore, instead she wakes up to her daughter, Helena, born December 12, 2006. Martha and husband Justin made the decision for her to stay home with Helena, so between diapers and feedings Martha also attends to daily operations of the magazine and Adonai Media’s design division, Fifty Foot Design. Martha, who was raised in the Corpus Christi area, played basketball for St. Mary’s University and upon graduation came to New Braunfels. “Everyone I ever met here was so nice, it made me want to be a part of it,” said Dixon.
Martha is branching out more and getting involved in the New Braunfels community. “I have really enjoyed the Women’s Chamber, Net Profit and of course the New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce,” says Dixon. Dixon admits, in the beginning she was content to be in the background and left the frontlines to Traci. But now Dixon says, “I understand that to grow our business we need to be there and I like it. I really believe that the services we offer in addition to Women of New Braunfels Magazine are truly top notch.”
Traci Chudej isn’t a New Braunfels native either, but she’s quick to let you know she got here as soon as she could. “I grew up in Seguin, in fact I am a third generation Seguinite, but I always liked New Braunfels and my husband is a 1977 Canyon High School graduate.” Chudej laughs and says, “I took the long road from Seguin to New Braunfels, by way of California and a five year ‘starter marriage’. I will never forget telling my mom I was getting married all she said was ‘okay’.” Chudej explained, “She is a wise women and knew I would wake up one day, and she did not want any hesitation on my part.” After five years of marriage, work, and college, Chudej returned to Texas but not to Seguin - the road brought her home to New Braunfels. She met her husband James and settled into life as a mother and wife. “I went from working and studying and this intense desire to dominate my profession, to being a mother and housewife.” Chudej began selling Pampered Chef in 1998 shortly after her youngest son was born. “It was fun. I could come up with my own promotions and develop sales goals and still be home with the kids,” says Chudej. Traci really wasn’t home much. “My mother told me to volunteer at school; it was supposed to be this great way to ‘connect’ with other moms. I volunteered for PTA and in a flash I was PTA President at Goodwin/Frazier. I never saw it coming,” says Chudej. Six years ago, Comal ISD opened Hoffmann Lane Elementary and Traci was very instrumental in starting that PTA. Traci comments, “Starting a PTA from scratch was very difficult. It was probably harder than starting the magazine. My friend Crystal and I were trying to do it all, and there were no capital contributions. I was tired after that year.” Chudej, still searching for her calling, worked for Money Mailer. “Tom and Judy Wisdom were absolutely the best bosses anyone could ever ask for.” Working for Money Mailer satisfied Chudej’s ‘selling brain’, but her love for writing and deep creativity was lacking. “I didn’t even know that anything was lacking until God plopped the magazine down in my lap,” says Chudej. Chudej also adds, “Leaving Money Mailer was a really hard decision, it was like leaving a family. There was so much going on in my life that is wasn’t fair to Tom and Judy or their business. My father-in-law had died and my mother-in-law needed me. No question I was there.” That was the beginning of a year of craziness. When it finally came to a close, Chudej returned to corporate America and eventually became a partner in Women of New Braunfels Magazine. Traci and her husband James have two children, Niccolas, an eighth grader at Canyon Middle School and Collin, a fourth grader at Hoffmann Lane Elementary School. “The kids really love the magazine. Nic is always trying to sell ads, and I bet he made all of his friends take one home to their moms. He is my marketing assistant for sure,” said Chudej.
Chudej reflects, “Every hurt, every lesson and every issue hold a special place in my heart. I just hope that we have inspired the Women in New Braunfels half as much as they have inspired us.”