EDITOR'S NOTE: Happy New Year East Cobb! Thanks for a great 2018!

First of all, Happy New Year East Cobb! I wish all of our readers a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year, and hope that you and your family are enjoying the holiday season with relish.

We’ll be getting back to our usual posting schedule shortly, but I wanted to say a few words before we get on with 2019.

As the first full calendar year of East Cobb News is in the books, my heart is full of gratitude for readers who’ve come to this site during 2018, followed us on social media, subscribed to the newsletter, left comments, offered story tips, asked questions, pointed out corrections or just got in touch to say thanks.

I’ve been hearing that a lot lately from readers—thanks for doing this. It’s been a great pleasure to provide news and information that’s all East Cobb, and only East Cobb.

Over the past few days I’ve been compiling our top stories and photos and readers’ picks from 2018, and I’ll include them again at the bottom of this note. Looking back through them, I was surprised how much we were able to report on, because I’ve often felt I’ve only been scratching the surface.

I’m the kind of person who likes to show, not tell. My main objective for East Cobb News for 2019 will be to continue building on a solid foundation for providing news and information for this community.

I’ve appreciated so many of you making your contributions, with photos, stories, tips and suggestions. You’ve helped make this the kind of community resource I want people to feel that they can’t be without.

Whether it’s regular coverage of local government and schools, transportation and development, local businesses and events, I want East Cobb News to really reflect our vast, diverse and thriving community.

Among my aims for the coming year is to do more in-depth stories about what you care about the most, as well as highlighting more people who serve vital roles in our community.

I’ve got a few ideas and subjects percolating along those lines, and if you have any suggestions, feel free to get in touch. Just e-mail me at: wendy@eastcobbnews.com.

In this new year I also want to connect community-minded readers with small businesses and organizations that help make the community better. I’ve been a member of the East Cobb Business Association this year and have seen this dynamic up-close, and it’s been very inspiring.

If you run a small business or organization and are interested in advertising opportunities, please get in touch. We’re young, but we’re growing, and we can provide you with a variety of ways to reach your ideal, targeted market.

These are lofty aspirations, I know, but as another member of my local independent online news publishers’ group likes to say, “No one else is doing this.”

You have many ways to get community news, from sources that have been around for decades and have plenty of name recognition. East Cobb News is only 18 months old, but I’ve been around here most of my life, and what really drives my passion is that this is the place I call home.

Thanks again for your readership in 2018. I’m excited for what’s in store for 2019!