This month marks the 200th issue of the Gazette, and for this endurance we owe many thanks. First to our sterling writers, whose fresh and extensive coverage, written with verve and clarity, makes readers eager to pick up the paper. Second to our many loyal readers (numbering about 25,000), who are persuading advertisers that the Gazette is popular and that their ads get seen. And finally, to our faithful advertisers, whose businesses ultimately also keep the paper alive.
Special thanks are due to Phil James, whose Secrets of the Blue Ridge local history column remains a monthly must-read, and to Dr. Robert Reiser, whose medical column deftly combines expert knowledge with subtle humor. They were both in the first issue and continue to contribute to the delight and edification of Crozetians.
Special thanks are also due to Parkway Pharmacy, who backed the Gazette from the first day and has been in every issue of the paper. Parkway is a keystone business for Crozet and it’s hard to exaggerate the contribution it makes to the community. The Gazette also tips its hat to Anderson Funeral Home, and contractor Matt Robb, who have supported the paper from the beginning, as well as (posthumously) Todd MacAllister, whose painting business ad likewise appeared every month until his untimely death last summer. Please patronize our advertisers. By supporting the paper, they show they care about our community.
When the Gazette began in 2006, it was greeted with predictions of prompt failure. But here we are, doing our best to serve our community with an independent mindset and unite it with a common store of local information. We make an issue and enough cash comes in to make another one. So far that “business model” has succeeded without an interruption in publication, although Covid gave us a view into the grave. The Gazette tries to live up to the old-fashioned ideals of community journalism: accuracy, honesty and empathy. We leave it to you to judge how well we do.
Now, on to number 300!
