Publisher’s Letter: The Journey Continues

October started with a terrible set of circumstances personally. My mom died, I had a medical scare, and many other challenges reared their ugly heads.

I put my head down and persisted.

As the month nears an end, I’m happy to say that while nothing will replace the sadness of my mother’s passing, the month ended quite well. I’m healthy, and thanks to the people who support North Forty News, I am having a very uplifting end to the month.

Our readers lifted my spirits. For example, my neighbor, a subscriber, donated a significant amount of money to North Forty News (our largest donation to date) in my mother’s name. He had never met her. For me, this gesture wasn’t all about the money. Even though my mother was a stranger to him, his kindness in her name was humbling and uplifting.

As I was standing at the post office, it brought me to tears! There were tears of happiness mixed with sorrow for my mother. I had to leave before I made a scene!

I got it together in the car and experienced two other notable acts of kindness on the same day!

While I was delivering some lumber to one of our other subscribers, we chatted in her driveway. She told me she felt like I was a neighbor — like we had known each other for years. It was the first time we had met, but I felt that way too. We both shared how North Forty News acted as the catalyst to make that happen. She recollected that my situation reminded her of hers in the 70s. That’s when she was raising her children with her husband.

Then, the same day, I got an email from another faithful reader. She said she felt like I was family and wanted to help. She had a Winnebago RV that she had been holding onto for years. The RV was in great shape, and she wanted me to have it so I could enjoy road trips with my sons. Honestly, my first reaction was, “what am I going to do with 3 RVs?” But I decided to take a look. When I met her, I felt too like she was family. We chatted for a long time and even hugged each other twice. The vehicle is well-maintained and in excellent shape. I accepted her offer, and I’m proud to say I will soon be the owner of that Winnebago.

And there were other cards, wishes, books, and emails too.

I have never felt so loved by my family, friends, and North Forty News readers. And that’s why it is so important. Yes, it’s personally important to me. I credit this organization for changing my life. Sometimes, honestly, it’s frustrating as heck. And I do think I want to give up. But I let myself calm down, solve the problem, and move on. I have been doing that for five years now.

I now see that I have a great support network when something tragic happens in my life. And that, my friends, makes me very proud!

I have been writing for weeks about how important it is (not just for me, but for the communities we serve) that North Forty News continues for multiple generations. To do that, this organization needs support from those communities. Our progress in reaching the goal of 1,000 subscribers still has momentum. The growth chart in this article is proof of that.

North Forty News closed September with its most successful subscriber growth month ever!

But how do we get to the goal? It’s through word of mouth. If North Forty News has touched you, and you aren’t a subscriber, consider it! If you are a subscriber, spread the word about how this locally-owned news organization differs from any other or maybe consider purchasing a subscription or two as a gift for someone. Let me know if you need to know how to do that (my contact information is on the masthead of the newspaper).

Let’s hit this goal together, and we won’t regret it!

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