Want to Write for Patch?

This past Saturday, the Patch team took the floor for the first annual Duck, Dip, Dodge Drake dodgeball tournament to raise money for the Drake Benchwarmers. 

The gym was crowded. The balls were flying. The hot dogs sizzling. 

But, it turns out we, here at Patch, might be good at writing and reporting on the community (I hope!), but we're not so good at ducking and dodging. I'm proud to report we lost every match - including to a wily team of 7th-graders from - and retired gracefully to nurse our wounds at .

Most importantly, I saw some of you out and about and we got a chance to meet face-to-face, talk, and enjoy ourselves. In fact, I saw some of our loyal Patch readers when I was eating at , when I was running across the street from the to fill my parking meter, when I was just plain running up at the . Pretty much people are constantly stopping me to say hi, talk about Patch, about things happening around town, and about what they would do if they were in charge.

Which brings me to point number one:

Stop By at Weekly Talk Time

It's time we re-introduced the weekly talk time. I'll be at the in San Anselmo (not the one in Fairfax, not the Roastery) tomorrow, Tuesday, from 1-3 p.m. 

Let's not call it office hours -- that sounds a little boring. Let's call it talk time. Time for you to stop by, say hi, talk, or just stare at me. Whatever you want.

I'll be at a different spot every week -- let me know if you have any favorites -- and invite you to come by during that time. In fact, I'll probably be there a little bit before and after that time too.

What'll we talk about?

Well, that brings me to point number two:

Patch is Changing Again?

Yes! But, it's exciting. And, it'll give you a chance to get your voice out to everyone in the community.

We'll be unveiling some new changes in the next week or two. (We'll probably unveil even more in the future too. Why? Because we want to keep making things better.) These new changes will offer a more prominent opportunity for all our readers and community members to write -- right on our homepage!

Have you always wanted to write? Are you passionate about the environment? Gardening? Flag football? Want to get your ideas heard?

In our new redesign, we'll be featuring local blogs and local voices on topics you choose and you write.

Yes, we've always had a chance to people to write . (And you can continue to write those.) And, yes, we also have countless local columnists and writers. But, we just weren't happy with the amount of access we were giving to our readers. Patch is supposed to be a forum for conversation and we want you to get to do more talking. This new format will give you a chance to write about what you want and we'll feature different pieces on the homepage every day.

If you think you might be interested or want to learn some more before it's unveiled, well, come by talk time. Or, email me at kellyd@patch.com.

What's point number three?

Keep on Enjoying Patch

We like you. We hope you like us. And, if you don't, let us know! As always, you can email me, leave comments (yes, I do read them all), or always come by talk time.

And, don't forget, we're more than just a website. Follow us on twitter (@RossValleyPatch) and like us on facebook to get all kinds of updates that don't always make it to the site.