It’s Progress time in DeKalb County

It starts with our stellar advertising staff, who go out to meet and greet the advertisers of DeKalb County, selling them on the as-yet unseen content. Once the ads are sold, then it’s time to pull it all together.

Editorial then rolls up their sleeves and gets to work producing the stories we decide upon during the new year brainstorming session.

Everyone works for three months, no joke, producing the Progress edition. It’s a ton of work, but also highly fulfilling to create.

Throughout this month, in each issue of The Times-Journal, we bring you a new piece of the Progress edition.

Each section deals with some facet of life in DeKalb County.

Ahead for your reading enjoyment are articles about our systems of learning, how we plan for the future, playing, agriculture, industry, healing, the arts, and so much more.

I’ve lost track of how many of these Progress editions I have personally worked on, but they always represent our very best work.

It’s a rare opportunity for us to meet new people, learn new things and reflect on the very best of this special place we are blessed to call home.

My thanks to every member of our staff and crew for their dedication and hard work. Thanks to all who choose to advertise with us and those of you who read the articles.

I sincerely hope you enjoy reading the Planning section inside of today’s edition.

I also want to put out a request for information from our readers. This time of year, we select the Top 20 Leaders of DeKalb County. Simple enough, but you see, we don’t like to repeat ourselves.

Rather than simply awarding such an honor to the same folks over and over, we want to discover the new leaders who are out there and worthy of recognition.

I welcome suggestions on stories we need to tell and heroic efforts, however subtle they may be, to improve lives. I welcome feedback generally.

To leave a story suggestion, send me a message to steven.stiefel@times-journal.com.

Steven Stiefel is the publisher of the Times-Journal. Email: steven.stiefel@times-journal.com.