This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
Happy New Year everyone and welcome to 2019. Hopefully, it will be a great year for us all.
The year 2018 was a struggle for me personally, but one I am happy to have gone through. What doesn't break you makes you stronger right? Last year my entire life changed. I divorced after 15 years of marriage and became a single mom to two autistic children. It wasn't always a pleasant year but it did end well.
Through all of those trials, I found a new community. The small one with the Longmont Observer and a larger one in Longmont as a whole. Nowhere else would so many people have stepped up to support me while I tried to tackle so much.
Of all the people I have met this year, the ones who have really stuck out are the volunteers I get to manage every day. They have all helped me through some dark days and given me a sense of family when my actual family is so many miles away.
Throughout the course of 2018, the Longmont Observer has had over 30 volunteers help produce our news. We end the year with 19, three of whom are Scott, Sergio, and myself.
Many of those remaining 16 have been with the Longmont Observer for several months as they balance writing articles with full-time jobs.
I can't say enough about these wonderful people. But I do want to say thank you to each member of our team.
Thank each of you for giving up your free time to write articles, take photos and record videos and podcasts. Thank you for pitching in to help us move into our new office. Thank you for attending meetings and listening to feedback.
Most of all I want to thank you for what you have given to me personally. Thank each of you for allowing me to be your editor-in-chief. Thank you for making me laugh on really rough days. Thank you for always asking what else you can do to take one more task off my plate. Thank you for your warm welcomes and bright smiles. Thank you for your constant contribution. Thank you for being my family.
You are all the heart of the Longmont Observer. You are what makes it work. You are the people who understand its importance and its role in our town. The time you sacrifice is not wasted. It is appreciated and so are you.
To you, readers, thank you for reading our work. Thank you, donors, for supporting our news. Your support lets our volunteers know they are appreciated for the hard work they are doing because bringing you the news every day is a lot of work.
It takes a lot of time to take an article from concept to publication. Here is an estimation of how much time it can take to publish one article:
The estimates in the table above are based on articles I have either written myself or helped a reporter develop.
This job isn't easy. It takes time to create quality work. And this is one of the many reasons it is so important to pay our staff.
I can understand if you are tired of reading our beg letters. I promise we do not love writing them, and I especially do not love writing them. However, I feel as passionate about paying a small staff as I do about devoting my time to bringing you the news.
So please help us if you can. The Longmont Observer's goal this year is to bring in $500,000. If you are already a donor, thank you. I mean that from the bottom of my heart. Your support, no matter how small, gives me hope and helps drive me to continue to improve how we deliver the news.
As a donor, please consider sharing our plea with friends, family or random people you meet. Send them to our website and let them decide for themselves.
If you are a reader and not a donor, please consider donating. As you can see from above, the news takes time to produce and our volunteers' time is valuable. They deserve your support and to be paid for their amazing work.
I would like to say that this is my last beg letter, but I can't. If you know me at all you know how much I don't like asking for your money. I don't like writing these editorials to ask for money. However, I have 19 people who are depending on me to find funding for them to continue doing something they love. And I do not want to disappoint them.
While I am trying every avenue I know to raise money, I can't do this without your support. So please Longmont, if you value our news, if you want to see us succeed, if you want to contribute to something that truly helps the entire community, please consider donating something, anything, even a few dollars.
You can donate online or by mail. Our address is 356 1/2 Main St. Unit 6, Longmont, CO 80501.
Thank you for considering a donation. Thank you for reading our news. Thank you for allowing the Longmont Observer to bring you the news.
I wish you all a very Happy New Year!
