BLACK HAWK — Today, Wednesday morning, I am sitting here in the office, thinking about the past week and looking forward to the next one.
A few weeks ago, we had a bunch of training on-site for our new website and news management software. This week, we are launching the new site. Hang on friends, it's gonna take a little bit of time for a full transition.
The good news is, our site will be FREE for a few weeks, while we sort out the details. Spend time checking it out and send us your feedback, so we know what you like or don't like. The website is located at www.themtnear.com.
Beyond that, we are working hard with both of our designers on quite a few projects. At this time, I'd like to personally thank Cynthia Davis for her ideas for many years that have pushed us forward with several publications that enhance what we do here at The Mountain-Ear. Cynthia was part of the paper for over 18 years and it's time to recognize her efforts, even though she has moved on to a job closer to her home in Oklahoma.
Many years ago, we had a cool publication called Mountain Music. It was a monthly that featured music of the Peak to Peak region. That publication sold and eventually closed down. But we still offer our music listing every week with a featured artist and list of shows. The list will be expanded and there will be even more online soon.
Cynthia was also the creative brain behind our Studio Tour (we just had our second one). We are continually learning how to improve what we do and this year we learned a lot. Next year will be even bigger and better!
As well as the Body Mind Spirit guide, which we are just starting to work on for a January print date. This year it will be glossy instead of newsprint!
We also created and maintained the Taste of the Peaks publication. That one is now combined into our Visitor's Guide, which was also a Cynthia creation. It was her final project at the paper this spring. It's absolutely gorgeous and still on stands across the Peak to Peak region.
The largest impact, however, was Cynthia's idea to start a podcast. She had been running one of her own and shared the idea with me. She rounded up a few people to help with it and she got it going. We went from a few times a month, to weekly. Now we have podcasts every few days. The podcast is unique because it brings in listeners who may not be print readers. and it connects the music and stories of the mountains to the print publications we do. It also won first and second place this year at the Colorado Press Association Better News Contest.
I am so proud to be part of this amazing TEAM of people. And exceptionally proud of all we have all come through to get to this point.
And grateful to say thank you to Cynthia, who made a huge difference at this publication, for a very long time.
For the rest of this year, I'll be adding some small gratitudes for the many people who have made this publication possible, for decades.
Until next time, if you need to reach us, email me at info@themountainear.com or call 303-810-5409. The Mountain-Ear is YOUR community source for news, covering the Peak to Peak region since 1977.
