The Journey to 2023 from 2017: What a long, amazing ride these five and one half years

Dear Valued Readers and Advertisers:

Wow. Just like that, as 2022 ends it has been 5 ½ years that the Weekly News has come to you under my watch. That is 5 years of Art's Alive, Not-so-Impromptu Parades, July 4th parades and fireworks, Halloween parades, boat parades, Pancake Breakfasts with Santa, Gilkey Square tree lightings, four high school state volleyball championships and, of course, Tulip Festivals.

Those stories and more have been in your community newspaper. What a long, wonderful trip it has been.

All this while, since January 2018, the price of advertising in the Weekly News has remained the same. More than once these 5 years – almost yearly for some items – costs have increased for:

• Paper
• Printing
• Postage
• Wages

Finally, and reluctantly, the Weekly News is raising its advertising rates in January. Your community newspaper is following area businesses in catching up with cost increases.

Over the past 5 years the Weekly News has been proud to:

• Print 10 page issues
• Update and improve its website: Twice!
• Expand its social media presence
• Win 23 awards in 2021's Washington's best newspaper contest
• Win 34 awards in 2022's Washington's best newspaper contest

286 issues of the Weekly News will have been published and mailed to readers or purchased at bakeries, coffee shops, farmstands and stores from July 1, 2017 through Dec. 28, 2022.

We have been through a lot the past three years. Whoever would have thought we would experience:

• A coronavirus pandemic
• Inflation
• Wildfire smoke
• Recession talk
• Too much rain
• Worker shortages
• Too little rain
• Supply chain bottlenecks

The goal has been to bring the best possible newspaper to you, its readers, every week. This has all been made possible by the advertisers you see reaching out to you through the Weekly News.

My heartfelt and profound thanks to the readers, advertisers and staff who are the reason for each issue.

Ken Stern

Publisher