When Tim McRae retires this month after 18 years with Akers Media Group, he’ll leave behind much more than a successful career in sales.

He leaves a company he helped build from the ground up.

Long before Akers Media Group became a household name in Lake and Sumter counties, before award-winning magazines, podcasts and digital platforms, there was a friendship built on trust, respect and a shared vision.

Tim’s journey with Akers Media Group began in 2008, but his friendship with publisher Kendra Akers started years earlier. The two first met while working together at a local publication after previously being competitors in the publishing industry.

When Kendra and her husband, Doug Akers, decided to launch Healthy Living Magazine, Tim immediately wanted in and jumped on board.

“He knew he had to be part of it,” Kendra says.

On July 5, 2008, Tim officially joined the company as a partner.

The company’s beginnings were simple. There was no dedicated office, just a small, but driven team.

“Before we had an office, we would meet for breakfast at Wolfy’s,” Kendra says. “We’d sit around planning our next steps and figuring out how we were going to make this work. Tim was always prepared. He would come dressed to the nines, organized and ready to tackle the day.”

Before the first issue of Healthy Living Magazine was ever printed, Tim and Kendra visited local businesses armed with nothing more than a media kit and a dream.

“Those were some of the most nerve-racking days of my career,” Kendra says. “We had no magazine to show anyone. Just an idea and the non-wavering belief that we could create something meaningful for the community.”

Business owners believed in that vision. Advertisers committed before the first issue hit the press, including Waterman Hospital, now AdventHealth Waterman, which purchased the magazine’s inaugural back cover. What began as a one-month commitment grew into a partnership that lasted more than a decade.

Within its first year, Healthy Living Magazine was named Best New Magazine by the Florida Magazine Association. It would go on to earn Best Overall Magazine in its category for the next 10 years.

In 2010, Akers Media Group expanded again by purchasing Lake & Sumter Style magazine. As Vice President of Sales, Tim helped guide the company’s growth with steady leadership, decades of sales experience and trusted business relationships.

“I’ve always said Tim is the rock our company was built on,” Doug says. “His integrity and steady leadership helped lay the foundation for everything we’ve become.”

Long before, Tim had already built a successful career in sales. He’d managed approximately 20 sales representatives throughout Florida, Georgia and Alabama for Russ Berrie and Company before deciding he wanted a different pace of life.

“I just wanted to get off the road,” Tim says.

A friend introduced him to publishing sales in 1999, a career that proved to be the right fit.

Throughout his career, Tim was supported by the people closest to him, including his late wife, Cindi, who stood by his side for many of the years that helped shape his professional journey.

When asked what stands out most after nearly two decades with Akers Media Group, Tim doesn’t mention awards or business growth.

“The family feel of our company,” he says is what touches him the most.

Kendra says that humble spirit helped shape the company’s culture from the very beginning.

“Tim’s impact cannot be measured solely by awards, circulation numbers or business growth,” she says. “His legacy lives in the relationships he built, the trust he earned and the countless moments that helped turn a startup fueled by faith and determination into one of Central Florida’s most respected media companies.”

However, retirement for Tim won’t mean slowing down for long.

Tim says he and his wife Marilyn plan to travel, volunteer and spend more precious time with family. One of their first major post-retirement trips will be to Israel next year.

Still, Tim admits, retirement will require an adjustment.

“The main thing I’ve got to get used to is just getting out of the mindset that if I sell, I eat, and if I don’t sell, I don’t eat,” he says.

After more than five decades in the workforce, he says the timing feels right.

“I think it’s time,” Tim says.

While Tim may be stepping away from the office, his influence will remain part of Akers Media Group’s heart forever. The company he helped build reflects the vision, integrity and relationships that have defined his career.   

Photos: Nicole Hamel and Akers Media Group