During these interesting times, the need to highlight what brings us together as a community is even stronger. And the need for robust, independent local community journalism has never been greater. With fairness and professional fact-based reporting, we also help hold the county and the Valley’s city governments accountable. Recently, that has included stories on lawsuits between Valley cities; increases to salaries for local leaders; and interviews with incoming leadership about their priorities and agendas.

The Valley Record also continually spreads the word on the good in our community by reporting on local nonprofit and service groups, such as Snoqualmie Valley Food Bank, North Bend Art and Industry and Snoqualmie Valley Kiwanis and the Snoqualmie Valley Preservation Alliance — and by sharing ways our readers can give back.

We’re there when things are great — and when they are not so great. We keep a watchful eye on crime and also keep the Valley informed about unfortunate or tragic events that sadden us all. Our staff produces stories that can also better the lives of Valley residents, like how to manage December’s flood and access funding for storm victims.

We also remain committed to keeping our local business community thriving. We celebrated with the Snoqualmie Tribe as they opened their beautiful new hotel and spa. We recently introduced our readers to new businesses like Kelsey’s Koffee in Carnation; Falls Avenue Cookie Company in Snoqualmie; Books and Bottles in Snoqualmie; and Gray’s Mercantile in Fall City.

Letting you know everything that is going on in the Valley is more than the news. We also let you know about all the fun events going on in the Valley with our weekly community calendar updates.

This year, we rolled out two new pages that run every other month: our Snoqualmie Valley Real Estate Snapshot and our Senior Resource pages. Just recently we produced the 19th “Best of the Valley” reader poll/contest, where the people of the Valley told us about their favorite businesses, nonprofits and people that make this Valley so special.

Our staff are at SnoValley Chamber of Commerce events, ribbon cuttings, grand openings and other community festivals like Fall City Days, Festival at Mount Si, Snoqualmie Days, the Sunflower Festival and more. Reporting on local arts, culture, nonprofit and service groups, we covered Empower Youth Network, Snoqualmie Valley Shelter Services, Keep it Local Snoqualmie Valley, our awesome Rotary Club and other great organizations.

But our trained, seasoned reporters and editors also require an investment. Whether it is from our digital and print advertising partners or our loyal reader subscribers, the Valley Record’s journalism efforts need to be supported to ensure that we can continue to cover the Valley with valuable, unbiased and honest reporting.

If you are not a regular reader, we invite you to be “in the know” and to visit valleyrecord.com/subscribe for three special time-sensitive subscription offers.

And, if you have a hot news tip, a comment or critique, a letter to the editor, or a great story idea, please connect with me or our award-winning reporter Grace Gorenflo at grace.gorenflo@valleyrecord.com. We’d love to hear from you!

Thank you for reading and supporting the Valley Record and valleyrecord.com. Since first joining the Valley Record in 2008, it has indeed been a privilege and an honor to help tell the stories of the wonderful people of this beautiful place.

William Shaw is the general manager and publisher of the Snoqualmie Valley Record. Contact william.shaw@valleyrecord.com or 425-453-2710.