We are turning one next month. That’s quite a milestone for a new business. When the paper launched we believed there was a need for a weekly community newspaper we just did not know if there was “want” for us. Since then, we have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support our community has shown the Greenwich Sentinel. What started as a fledgling paper has grown into a sought-after recorder of town news. With the sense of renewal that spring naturally brings with her, this seemed like an opportune time to take a look back as well as forward.
What a year this has been. We started with the September 11th Memorial Ground Breaking, the Greenwich Town Party—which is quickly approaching this year. Last summer we reported on more than 500 people participating on the Relay for Life as well as GHS music teacher Mr. Yoon’s very public school board trial and exoneration, overcrowding at Tod’s Point, and Eversource’s plan for a new substation. The lazy days of summer gave way to school activities, sports and local campaigns. We stood on Greenwich Avenue and watched every town organization celebrate Greenwich’s 375th birthday. We reported on the election of Peter Tesei, Drew Marzullo and John Toner. Not long after, we marched in a parade to celebrate our undersung Vietnam Veterans. All along, the pace of the paper and its reporting was increasing.
We have heard from many of you how much you love the paper. We have taken time to share the life experiences on many of our noted citizens, including Ambassador Joseph Verner Reed and Mary Staples-Webber. We celebrated professional baseball player Mike Sandlock’s 100th birthday last fall. In today’s paper, we celebrate his life again and mourn his passing. We take solace in that the day he died, Monday April 4, was when Major League Baseball was in the process of celebrating the start of the 2016 season.
Sports is a very important part of our paper and we have the best sports writers out there. Paul Silverfarb, Evan Triantafilidis and Taylor Knight take great pride in their reporting, and well they should. Their stories are often our most widely shared and viewed. All of our children at some point will play local sports, whether organized through the schools or by the Parks & Recreation Department. We make sure to cover as much as we can because you, the readers, have told us that is one section that is very important to you. There is a fun story this week on the upcoming opening day of fishing season—this Saturday at 6 a.m.—and all the good work the Mianus Chapter of Trout Unlimited does.
So what the future of the Sentinel hold? You tell us. After all, the Greenwich Sentinel is your community newspaper. You are the ones creating the news we are reporting on. Your businesses are the ones purchasing the advertisements that provide us the resources necessary to deliver the paper to 21,000 households and have available at more than 260 locations around town. We are deeply appreciative of both the news and advertisements, since without them we would not exist.
We want to hear more from you. In addition to the news we report on we want to celebrate the milestones of our community. We want to share with your neighbors your news of a birth, a marriage, a job promotion, a college dean’s listing. And we want to mourn with you as a community when a loved one passes. Visit our website for easy ways to provide us with your information.
When we began, part of our mission was to help bring the Greenwich community together in a positive way. If Easter is any indication, then that is indeed happening. Many churches reported a significant rise in attendance over last year. It is a mission we want to continue throughout our entire community. With your help, we will.
