Published in the June 24 – July 9, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life
With this issue you’re now reading, Morgan Hill Life starts its third year serving the Morgan Hill and South Valley region by providing a quality-of-life source of local news for residents. We’re proud of what we have accomplished in our first two years. And with Volume 3, Issue 1, we see our newspaper enterprise growing in the future and becoming an even more integral part of Morgan Hill.
It seems hardly a day goes by without a reader telling us in person, by email or by letter that they really love reading our newspaper because it provides upbeat and positive news for the local community. We put a lot of pride in the quality of every issue, so we never get tired of hearing how well Morgan Hill Life is received by our friends and neighbors who make up the Morgan Hill community.
One of the most recent letters came from one of our advertisers, Terry Moriyama who is a local RE/MAX real estate agent. She told us how Morgan Hill Life has helped her business grow — and made her dog Gizmo famous: “I have been advertising with Morgan Hill Life since the very beginning and it has been my pleasure to watch it blossom. Everyone there has been a delight to work with, holding my hand through design challenges and deadlines.
“Morgan Hill Life has now become quite intertwined in every facet of Morgan Hill, showing off the vibrant city we live, work and play in. I especially wish to commend your involvement with our numerous local nonprofits and volunteer organizations.
“Almost daily I hear: ‘I saw you and Gizmo in the paper again’ — a testament to not only the huge circulation, but to the reader draw. I have received very positive response on my advertisements and the articles for both myself and Air For Paws.”
The common comment we receive is that people wish Morgan Hill Life came out every week instead of every other Wednesday. Residents of San Martin often tell us that they wish they would receive Morgan Hill Life in their mailboxes — just as we mail copies of the print version of the paper to about 17,000 homes and businesses in Morgan Hill. (San Martin residents can always pick up the latest copy of our paper at Rocca’s Market as well as the San Martin Post Office, and Gilroy residents can pick up the paper at various locations such as the public library.)
One of the things that sets us apart from traditional local newspapers is that we believe in being active in the community’s life. That’s why you’ll often see us at various events such as monthly business mixers and breakfasts as well as participating on various nonprofit boards such as the South Valley Symphony, the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce and the Morgan Hill Youth Sports Alliance.
We at Morgan Hill Life believe that a newspaper needs to do more than just provide information to readers. A community newspaper’s mission must be to protect and enhance the quality of life that local residents enjoy. That’s why every issue of Morgan Hill Life has on its front page a profile of a local nonprofit organization and what its volunteers are doing to increase the quality of life in the South Valley.
We also believe that a community newspaper needs to be supportive of its education of young people — whether they are being taught in public, private, charter or home schools. That’s why we created the Junior Journalism program in which we mentor students in the skills of writing for publication — and then publish their stories and opinion pieces in our newspaper.
We at Morgan Hill Life would like to thank you, our many readers and advertisers, for supporting our endeavor for the past two years and for your continued support into the future.
Life in Morgan Hill is vibrant and fun. We hope the news and opinions we share with you in Morgan Hill Life truly reflect the spirit of the place we call home.
