This month marks a special anniversary for TheBurg.
A year ago, we launched our membership program, Friends of TheBurg, not knowing what to expect.
As I said at the time, we had planned a summertime launch, but the pandemic made it critical for us to begin early. Faced with plummeting ad sales, we moved up the launch date, crossed our fingers, and hoped for the best.
Would the community respond?
At the time, we asked that question sincerely, but it now seems almost rhetorical. Of course the community would respond!
A year later, we have over 350 wonderful “friends,” including individual, household, business and community pillar members.
Thank you so much! I always appreciate it when someone tells me that they love TheBurg. But it’s another level of commitment entirely when people support us—voluntarily—with their hard-earned money.
Because of your help, we’ve been able to:
- Hire a full-time city reporter.
- Keep our daily reporting service, monthly magazine, podcast and other important news products free of charge for the community.
- Stay afloat during the pandemic so that we wouldn’t follow the dismal fate of so many other local and community newspapers.
Nearly every day, I see our “Friends of TheBurg” tote bags out there in the wild, slung around an arm, holding groceries, etc. And I think to myself, “Wow, this person likes what we do so much that they support us.” It’s an amazing feeling.
When we started the program a year ago, I made a promise that we would have a launch party. That’s still our plan, but we can’t hold a crowded event until the state allows it and people feel comfortable attending. So, please, stay tuned for that.
Going forward, we also hope to attach other events to Friends of TheBurg. Unfortunately, the pandemic has knocked the stuffing out of the events space, so that plan will take much longer to put in place than we originally thought.
Before I conclude, I want to say a final “thank you” to all Friends of TheBurg. Without you, we might not be here today, and, for that, we owe you an enormous debt of gratitude. And, now, onto the May issue!
Lawrance Binda
Co-Publisher/Editor-in-Chief
To join Friends of TheBurg, visit our website, where you’ll see all the details of the membership program.
