COEUR d'ALENE - For Julie Lilienkamp, the opportunity to sell advertising in CdA Magazine was a dream come true. And that's not just a sales pitch.

"I've watched it grow since its very first issue (in summer 1998)," said Lilienkamp, 50. "That publication actually inspired me to get into magazines for a living."

Lilienkamp broke into the magazine business as an intern in Colorado with Climbing Magazine and now serves as a marketing representative for Hagadone Communications. She also writes and sells ads for CdA Mining and Timber magazine - a publication she created from scratch.

Steve Welch, 45, intersected with CdA Magazine not just as a reader, but as a prospective advertiser. That didn't work out too well - initially, anyway.

"I loved the magazine when I moved here three and a half years ago," Welch said. "It was a great high-end publication that I thought portrayed the region's lifestyles really well, with terrific photos and stories."

When Welch started selling state-of-the-art underground shelters - and we're talking hundreds of thousands of dollars here - he called CdA Magazine about a possible advertising campaign.

And he called.

And he called again.

"I had to call three times," he said. "After the third call I told them they need a dedicated salesperson for this. It's too good a product and too important not to have the very best marketing representation."

Welch and Lilienkamp now form a double-team devoted to meeting with business people whose messages would hit home with the exclusive subscriber list and single-copy buyers of CdA Magazine. And they've now got twice as much to sell: This year, the two-person team will be offering space in two issues published annually.

"We had cut back to one issue a year during the recession but, because readership is strong and the economy is rebounding, we felt we needed to expand to meet today's demands for readers and advertisers alike," said Jim Thompson, the magazine's publisher. "We're extremely happy to have marketing professionals of Julie's and Steve's caliber to represent CdA Magazine."

Director of sales Dave Habrat, working with Dennis Hall at Blue 541 advertising agency, recently completed a new media kit for CdA Magazine that illustrates the unique distribution to high income readership of the twice-yearly magazine.

"We're eager to have Julie and Steve sit down with prospective clients to go over the media kit, because we're certain it's going to open very positive new doors for them," Habrat said.

To reach Lilienkamp: phone 208-664-8176 Ext. 3037 or email jlilienkamp@cdapress.com

To reach Welch: phone 208-664-0219 or email swelch@cdapress.com