Every year, it becomes one of the most sought after publications in the city.

And on Friday, the 2009 edition of Discover Suffolk will be released to the public.

The 128-page magazine will be revealed at the launch party Friday at the Hilton Garden Inn and Suffolk Conference Center.

“This year, we’re focusing on the diversity in lifestyles in Suffolk – the fact that you can be in horse country or you can be up in a high technology corridor or you can enjoy the downtown historic district.” Jinks Babey, Director of Sales for Discover Media, LLC. “There’s all kind of different options for having a really nice quality of life in Suffolk.”

The magazine is dedicated to depicting all of the positive aspects of life in Suffolk, and is routinely used to help market the city to prospective residents, businesses and industries.

Included in this year’s magazine are a number of stories ranging from resident and business profiles to pictures and stories from the April 28 tornado. Additionally, there is a focus on the changes and expansion seen in the city, specifically in health care in the Northern corridor.

“It’s so exciting because you work really hard to find what is important to people,” Babey said. “Back, years ago, we would try and find things that were happening in the city, and it was hard. Suffolk was a pretty, quiet, nice little sleepy town. Now, it’s totally opposite. There’s so much happening and so many good things going on. There’s not enough room in the magazine anymore to cover everything we know that’s going on. It’s exciting.”

Starting next week, copies of Discover Suffolk will be available at the city’s Visitor Center on North Main Street. Additional copies are available with some of the magazine’s advertisers who will be attending Friday’s launch party.

While finishing this year’s product is a proud accomplishment on its own, Babey said she is more encouraged by the amount of new faces she sees showing up to the annual launch party and reading the magazine.

“A lot more people get to know about (Discover Suffolk) and hopefully we’re reaching out to different folks in the city – really extending our hand to everyone to make sure everybody in Suffolk feels like this is their book about their city,” Babey said. “That’s our goal: we want the residents to say, ‘This is my magazine about my city.’”