All Thanks to You

I am proud to say that today we rank among the best community newspapers around, if for no other reason than you tell us so. But it also bears repeating that our staff and volunteers raked in 25 state awards from the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association this year.”

I cannot tell you how many times I’ve sat down to write, only to stare at an empty screen with a blinking cursor before me and realize I have nothing nice to say. The whole world is in turmoil. Our nation is polarized. Much of the world is at war. Where do we look for hope?

Enter the season of generosity and kindness, of warmth and goodness and twinkling lights.

The whole house smells like a feast in the making. We’re about to sit down to Thanksgiving dinner at our son’s table, dog and kitten at our feet. We are together. We are grateful.

These are the joyful moments I want my future self to recall when the darkness of winter comes and my outlook on life turns grim. I know I’m not alone in this seasonal struggle with melancholy in the middle of holidays when everyone else seems so happy.

There is much to be grateful for.

This issue of Key Peninsula News is the 72nd edition since I became executive editor in January 2018. It doesn’t seem right, or even possible, that six years have gone by but it’s true. I did the math and shook my head in disbelief too.

In that time the newspaper has changed enormously. Our news team has matured and blossomed with new talent. We have a solid range of fine voices in our columnists. We publish more pages, with more color, more beautiful photos and more in-depth stories than ever before. We focus on what we’re curious about, how things work to make this place we live so special. And what you miss in print or prefer to read online? Our robust website is filled with history back to our earliest editions 51 years ago and runs entirely without paywalls.

I am proud to say that today we rank among the best community newspapers around, if for no other reason than you tell us so. But it also bears repeating that our staff and volunteers raked in 25 state awards from the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association this year, one of the largest and oldest such organizations in the country, where we competed against 47 other newspapers. (See "KP News Wins Record-breaking 25 Statewide Awards," November 2023."

Who would believe it possible in a 24/7 news cycle dominated by profit that a monthly nonprofit publication could make a difference in our community?

How do we do it? Together. We make this newspaper with you.

I can’t begin to thank all the readers and all the people willing to share their lives, their struggles and successes, sorrows, hopes and dreams.

My gratitude overflows when I think of each and every person, staff member and contributor on our team who goes the distance. Month after month, our reporters find the thread of a story, reach that source, get that quote, and write to make that deadline needed to produce the next edition.

When all is said and done, Key Peninsula News works because of you. Local advertisers help make this paper possible, but they can’t do it alone. Foundations and generous individual donors large and small enable us to go forward, be better, and do more. We could not exist without your support. Every dollar matters.

Leading the Key Peninsula News is far and away the most fulfilling work I have ever done. To have the honor of working with this dedicated team of talented people from the community where I live and which I love is, in a single word, priceless. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your continued support.

Happy holidays Key Peninsula. Be well, be safe, and take care of each other. We can make it through the hardest times together.