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http://media.lakewoodobserver.com/issue_pdfs/Observer_Vol_09_Issue_01.pdf
All
Happy New Year!
As usual it takes an issue or two to get back up to speed after coming off our Holiday break, and coming down from our Holiday frenzy! But the crew at the Lakewood Observer with the help of many volunteers, writers, editors, photographers and illustrators have brought a really nice issue together to start our 9th year of publishing a print paper. And as I look at the quality of the input, and the strength of the helpers I have to believe that our 9th year will be our best year yet. Not just for the Observer, but also for the city of Lakewood.
If you are getting this email and copy of the Observer, then I know you have been a supporter of this project, and I would ask that you consider doing just a little more this year. Jump back on the Deck, it has been amazingly positive for the past couple years, and here at the Observer we have to believe one
of the easiest places to carry on either a serious discussion of things in Lakewood, or a silly fun one, that everyone loves to dive into. A great place to share events, photos, ideas and stories that still needs no passwords to read, you have to leave no personal information behind, and it will not intrude into your life day after day with needless email blasts about, well, things that can probably wait until you have the time to go relax, look and take part.
A change that should add to the project is Peter Grossetti coming in as Associate Editor - Community Engagement. Peter is a person who enjoys lifting up the veneer to see what is underneath, and when he saw the Project's full potential, he volunteered to help with community engagement issues including outreach, event planning, strategic initiatives and increased coverage of City Hall. I could not be happier, as this underlines the truth of the Observer Project: it is not negative, not positive, but what you bring to it and make of it.
When Peter first signed on, he and I did not always see eye to eye (and at times we still don't), but we both agree that agreeing to disagree is not a bad thing. And if he's told me once, Peter has told me a hundred times, "If you want 'a better Lakewood' - however you define that - you are my ally." He has immersed himself in the entire Lakewood experience and in the end, thought contributing to the LO would be a positive way to donate his time to helping our community. Peter will be writing an introductory article for our January 22 issue in which he will lay open some of his thoughts and hopes for his and your participation in this Project.
We will also be bringing back our bi-monthly coffee meetings at the Beck cafe and around the city with featured speakers from City Hall, the Schools, various Non-Profits, and Businesses all in an effort to help others get the most out of living in Lakewood.
The LO is also expanding our Editorial Board, to add a little muscle to the overall discussion which is at the heart of the Observer project. You will recognize some of the new board members as having contributed in one way or another to Lakewood and the Lakewood Observer over the years, they are a near perfect cross-section of Lakewood; people who will give the entire project insight into what Lakewood is doing, feeling and where it is headed in 2013 and beyond.
If this sounds like it describes you, and you have any interest in sitting on this board please notify me, or the office by January 31, 2013.
Have a great 2013, and if there is any way we can serve you, your group, your non-profit, or business better please do not hesitate to call. At the end of the day, we are here to serve you.
James C. O'Bryan
Publisher
Lakewood Observer, Inc.
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