There's something about a warm house, leftover turkey soup and a bit of post-Christmas music that makes us count our blessings and wax nostalgic at this time of year.
The newspaper industry is marked by change now. While community newspapers remain intrinsically connected to our own neighbourhood readers, businesses and city groups, there is no doubt we are in a transition stage.
You can now connect with us online and catch up on news via several platforms. We have friends on Facebook, followers on Twitter and, of course, we have our own channel on YouTube.
It's all pretty amazing. But we hope all that technology isn't outshining what community journalists and newspapers are all about.
When we look back at 2013, we don't count how many smartphones we had, we count how many readers spent the time to connect with us and ask us to do a story on them, or on an issue dear to them.
Be it traffic, coal or city development, what mattered to these folks was that a local journalist spent time making sure that the facts, and their side of the issue, was conveyed to other people - our readers.
We are able to do that job because advertisers find value in the paper, because people read it. It's a simple equation, but one, again, that is often lost in the buzz over bright new shiny gadgets.
It's all about people.
So, we pause a moment to be grateful, not just for our warm abodes, but also for all the people in New Westminster who made a connection with us this past year and trusted us with their advertisements, stories, letters, photos and much more. And, of course, a special thank you to all the paper carriers who trudge door-to-door no matter the weather to bring our work to you.
We really couldn't do it without you all! Thank you for your readership and support in 2013.
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