I’m tempted to wrap up the last 12 months of news with a bow and send it on its way, but I will save my news recap for our secular new year’s issue.
This is our Rosh Hashanah issue, and as we say goodbye to 5785, I’d like to look back with gratitude and look ahead with optimism.
But first, as I mentioned in our last issue, the printing press we used for years closed last week. This issue is the first one with our new printer, and because of that, a few changes have occurred.
If all goes to plan, the ink on the physical paper you’re reading this on should look crisper and clearer, (meaning higher photo resolution can be our new year’s resolution). Also, you should notice that the pages are longer than they used to be, allowing us to provide you with more content than before in our typical 16-page issues.
Another change is that half of The Chronicle will remain in full color, and half will be in black and white. To ensure that the most important photos remain on color pages, we’ve relocated our celebrations section to page 8 (instead of 4). Spotlight photos remain on page 7 in full color.
In other Chronicle news, I hope you’ve noticed the increased quality and frequency of our social media posts. Thanks to Alexis Greenberg, Jewish Federation’s digital marketing specialist, both our Facebook and Instagram pages are regularly updated with links to stories as well as videos like humorous advertisements and biweekly roundups of local news. (Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @kcjewishchronicle.)
In addition to Alexis, I’d like to thank Assistant Editor Lacey Storer, who, while doubling as Federation’s marketing manager, still dedicates significant time and effort to The Chronicle (and puts up with me). Also, I thank Federation leadership — including Derek Gale, Jay Lewis and Erin Markowicz — for their support of both The Chronicle and me.
From a content standpoint, Lacey and I would like to sincerely thank our excellent freelancers, Kevin Deutsch, Jane Martin and Michael Sudhalter, for their top-notch stories on topics ranging from antisemitism to Jewish Girl Scouts and everything in between. We thank Nancy Kalikow Maxwell, who has been a constant source of humor and wit through her wonderful Joys and Oys column. To everyone who contributed to the PJ Library Shalom at Home column, we thank you so much for your heartfelt advice and stories about parenthood (especially Bridey Stangler, who was the impetus behind the column).
To every single person who submitted any content to The Chronicle this year — no matter if a Spotlight photo or 1000+ word article — we thank you. Your stories and coverage are what really make The Chronicle belong to the Kansas City Jewish community.
We’d also like to thank the staffs of many synagogues and community organizations for their collaboration and news submissions, all of which help ensure that The Chronicle covers as wide a swath of the Jewish community as possible.
I’d like to thank every single subscriber in person if I could, but hopefully this message can suffice: you are the number one reason this publication still exists, and we are unbelievably grateful for your subscription, attention and trust in The Chronicle.
As we enter 5786, we are bolstered by our incredible supporters and will continue improving and evolving The Chronicle while covering all we can of this incredible Jewish community. G-d willing, the next year will be full of good news.
Wishing you a happy and sweet new year.
