Berkley Patch Celebrates Its First Birthday!

It's hard to believe, but Berkley Patch went live a year ago this month on Nov. 17, 2010.

Back then, we were the new kid on the block.

Freelance contributor Libby Turpin recently reminded yours truly of the day we filmed at in Berkley (thanks to co-owners Maureen McNamara and Jennifer Stark for having us). Unfamiliar with Patch.com at that time, some of the pizza makers thought we were from the popular dating site Match.com. My team and I got a kick out of that!

Now, Berkley Patch has thousands of readers each month, more than 640 "likes" on Facebook and more than 300 followers on Twitter. So, we wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you for your support.

There are many days when yours truly marvels at the good fortune to be able to make a living meeting you, learning your stories and sharing information that, hopefully, contributes something valuable to the community.

We think we've been able to deliver on the promises we made in that welcome video filmed more than a year ago to let you know:

What happened at the City Council or City Commission meeting:

Who won the big high school game:

What new business opened downtown:

What's new in the schools:

We also said we'd profile interesting people and tell you the quirky stories that make our community unique:

Getting the site off the ground has been a team effort.

Yours truly couldn't have done it without all of the freelance reporters who've contributed stories, ideas and passion for the craft of journalism. While Berkley Patch has had the good fortune to have dozens of talented freelancers write for the site, special shout-outs go to Alissa Malerman, Libby Turpin and Crystal Evola Krauskoff, who repeatedly have gone above and beyond the call of duty.

Having excellent sources also has been a crucial part of our success, and we need to thank them, too. Although there are more folks than we can name here individually (please know you all are appreciated!), we'd like to single out a few as examples:

• City Manager Jane Bais-DiSessa, Berkley Finance Director David Sabuda and City Manager Alex Allie, all of whom have spent hours patiently going over the cities' financial documents to explain the annual audit process, and who always respond promptly to requests for comment on stories large and small.
• Recycling queen Claire Galed and the crew, who have welcomed Patch into the trenches in all seasons and agreed to let us ride along during to see .
• Deputy Director Robert North, who also serves as a Hometown Holiday Lights Parade committee member and invited Patch to witness in 2010. In his Public Safety capacity, North has kept the lines of communication open, replying as soon as possible to texts about emergencies, whether man-made or weather-related.
• Supervisor Colette Nutton, who must be the fastest text and email responder of all our sources and sends along great story ideas.
• Huntington Woods resident Alex Cooper, who keeps us in the loop on neighborhood news, and Berkley resident Josephine Brewer, who greets us at City Council meetings with a cheerful "hello" and a bright smile.

Finally, dear readers, we need to acknowledge your role in Berkley Patch's success. Without your tips, comments and participation, the site could not have continued to grow and become more enriched during the past year. So, we encourage you to keep it up!

• Have a news tip or story? Email me at Leslie.Ellis@patch.com.
• Interested in blogging on Berkley Patch? Again, email me at Leslie.Ellis@patch.com.
• Wondering about something going on in the neighborhood? Ask about it in our Q&A feature.
• You can also join the discussion at twitter.com/berkleypatch and facebook.com/berkleypatch.
• Did your family recently welcome a new baby? Have you been promoted at work? Did you and your beloved get engaged? Post the good news in the Berkley Patch announcements.
• Would your community group like to promote an upcoming event? You can add it to the events calendar. 
• Because volunteerism is a core value at Patch, there is a place on the site to solicit volunteers or to volunteer yourself.
• Another user-friendly feature of the Berkley Patch is our Places directory, a complete listing of everything around town – including businesses, places of worship, government offices, schools and more. 

Moving forward, we'd like to continue to provide you with excellent coverage of Berkley and Huntington Woods, so please leave a comment or participate in our poll to give us feedback on what changes you'd like to see during the next year.

In the meantime, we hope that the "terrible twos" don't live up to their reputation and that Berkley Patch's second year is as great as its first.

Thank you!