One Year Today: Belmont Shore-Naples Patch

Today marks the one-year anniversary of Belmont Shore-Naples Patch, and as your local editor, I would like to thank all of you for helping to be a part of this ever-growing online community.

As a 17-year resident of Belmont Shore, I always wanted a source of on-the-ground information from people who live here and know the turf. Out-of-town reporters might sniff at parade news and road closures. Because we live here, we have the same interests for what impacts everyday life.

So who is this 'we', you might ask? Good question. Some days it is just me and my trusty sidekick Brody Ricardo, hands down the most loyal four-legged wingman an editor could want. Most days, 'we' includes writer/residents such as Kelsey Duckett, Brantley Watson, photographer Thomas Wasper and videographer Matt Schaffer. It includes roving Patch editor Mirna Alfonso. And our Facebook-loving ad manager, , (who loves eating out and has shot news photos like the Segway crash).

But the team has included an array of talent that I have praised before, and I will thank them all again at this anniversary. Budgets change, life moves us around, and families and opportunities take us in new directions.

Two people I would like to thank for their incredible support, talent and devotion weeks before this site launched and months after, are Lori Shepler and Shanna Gilfix. They are incredible photographers and videographers who dedicated themselves to what Patch could become,  and I am grateful.

Other writers I have loved to read include Farmers Market columnist Gary Metzker, his predecessor, Kent Zelas, fitness columnist Andrea Metzker, sustainability columnist Holland Brown, and restaurant reviewer Elizabeth Borsting. Robyn Norwood, Mary Lou Fulton and others have penned articles, among more than 2,165 posted in the past 365 days--an average of six stories a day. (Why do you think Pajama Jeans look so appealing to Patch editors?)

Our writers still include House Hunt's Shannon Jones, Fishing columnist Philip Friedman and Health writer Treacy Colbert, and a bounty of talented bloggers--and 166 posts to date--for whom we should all be grateful, and there is always room for more.

But primarily, our Patch will shine brightest when it features you. We welcome your voices, your story ideas, your funny YouTube links and blogs. Thanks for joining our blooming Patch.