Hello to all our wonderful readers!

After nearly two decades at this wonderful company created by my friends, James Warner and Ryan Duques, I have decided that it’s time for me to make a big change. The Feb. 27 issue will be my final one at Shore Publishing. (Note—I originally had this paragraph further down in this letter for dramatic effect, but was taught early on that, in news, never bury the lead. So now I can tell you my story.)

I was 21, fresh out of college, and headed to Europe for a backpacking excursion, but before I left, I made a phone call to my friend James to see if he might have an opening at the local paper he and his friend had started just four years prior. “Sure,” he had told me. “We’ll make you an editor or something. Come in when you get back.” It wasn’t the brush-off it may sound like—they were evolving so fast he knew he’d have a spot for me.

I started that summer as a reporter/editor/photographer, and one of my favorite parts of the job was Person of the Week. I’d often start the interview by asking if they’d grown up in town, and in about an hour, I’d hear my interviewee’s life story. I felt comfortable in this job. About a year later, I filled an opening on “the other side” of the business and I became a sales rep, helping local businesses with their marketing plans, conjuring up ads that encapsulated the business’s personality. After Shore Publishing was sold to The Day in 2008, I moved into the role of sales manager, and finally publisher for the past five years. It has been a great run.

Speculation about the print industry is frustrating as many attempt to predict its future. It’s evolving for sure, but what I know is that print is so very alive in our small, tightly woven communities, in which you all constantly tell me how you cherish the weekly paper as your own. You hold us to high expectations and know that with us, you’ll get the whole story. You have a thirst for the in-depth local features that we offer, and you look to the ads to learn about local businesses and new places to check out. And you’ve embraced our new glossy magazines by allowing them a spot on your coffee tables. Both readers and advertisers tell us they need us and that we work for them in a way that other mediums do not.

The only thing of which I’m prouder than our strength in the community is the team that I have worked with here. I believe in Shore’s products and its people. We are lucky that we have writers, photographers, and designers who are extremely passionate about their art; the combination of skills that we expect our sales team to have is so unbelievably rare that I just feel grateful that somehow, they’ve found their way to Shore.

I know that you, our readers and advertisers, will continue to support this dedicated and hardworking team and I am forever appreciative of your loyalty and suggestions and the conversations we’ve had throughout my years here.

It’s time for me to try something new, as I simply realized that I have done as much as I can for the team at Shore. I’m excited to say I’m headed to a completely different industry for my next 20-plus years, and that is by coming full circle back to my first boss: I’m joining James Warner in the financial planning industry at Warner Group with offices in Shelton and Madison. I am looking forward to helping people plan for their best lives from their current stages through retirement. And better yet, I’m grateful to get to continue my career with someone whom I have learned from and trusted for more than the 20 years I’ve been at Shore. I invite you to keep in touch with me or say hello at robynwolcott@gmail.com. Thank you for reading!

Robyn Wolcott, Publisher

Shore Publishing CommunityNewspapers/Zip06.com