Thankful

Today is a holiday that many bypass in their rush to get to Christmas. But Thanksgiving is a day when we should take a moment and give thanks for the many blessings we have. While it is true that we are experiencing inflation and our tables may not be as full as we would like and gas prices far surpassed $5 a gallon, for most of us we do have food on our table and cars to put gas in to.

This is the 14^th Thanksgiving that I have shared with readers and supporters of the Crescenta Valley Weekly … hard to believe. I want to take this opportunity to thank you ­– thank you for giving. You’ve given CV Weekly, and by extension me, your time and your attention and many of you have given cold hard cash. I am grateful for each person who has taken the time to support this effort – because it began as my dream.

When I started the CV Weekly in 2009 it was soon after the CV Sun was shuttered by its new owner – the LA Times. I was confident that our community would appreciate once again having its own paper. I wasn’t wrong.

Not only did the paper survive, it thrived. Over the years readers have sent “thank you” notes that included payment for a subscription. As I shared last week, I’ve even received payment for a subscription when the reader didn’t want the paper thrown into his driveway – he just wanted to support the cause. Because he knows the paper isn’t “free” – it costs me a bundle each week to produce.

And it’s a good newspaper. The reason? Primarily because of excellent people who work hard to make sure it’s good. Let’s face it – Mary O’Keefe is a godsend whose only regret is not being everywhere ­– though it seems she is. She loves this community as much as I do and shares that love with every bit of news she writes. Our office manager Rachelle Miller makes sure the office runs like a well-oiled machine. She fields most of the phone calls, especially on production day when she promises a call-back after the paper has been finalized. Our design guys Steve Hernandez and Matt Barger make sure the paper’s layout looks good – not a small feat when you consider how they have to work with our sales force when creating ads from ideas or have to accommodate placement requests.

Our sales force – Jon K., Sonya Marquez and Lisa Stanners – are responsible for getting into the paper the advertisers that benefit our community. It makes me so happy when I hear a reader say they first look at who advertises in the CV Weekly before deciding on a service or product.

Anne McNeill is our proofreader. I’ve learned so much from her – but not everything as I realize when I get back a story she’s looked over and see the errors she caught in it.

Each week Mike Lawler submits his Then & Now piece on behalf of the Historical Society of the Crescenta Valley and his column (found in Viewpoints). When reading both I easily understand why he’s a favorite of our readers.

There are others who work hard on the CV Weekly and I apologize for not including them here – but I am thankful for each and every one.

So today, Thanksgiving, take a minute to reflect on the many blessings we have and be thankful – I sure am.