I hope you are enjoying reading this inaugural edition of The Clanton Advertiser’s Weekend Edition. I believe it is a fun and informative read that strives to cover the events and the people of our county every weekend.

Editor Tim Reeves, Scott Mims and Stephen Dawkins have filled this edition with news articles that are both entertaining and informative.

I particularly enjoyed Tim’s story about Clanton resident Roy Price’s Pontiac GTOs. He chose an interesting way to localize stories that tell us how General Motors’ decision to discontinue production of Pontiacs is an end of an era for muscle car enthusiasts.

Another story deals with the impact tourism has on Chilton County. I was amazed at the amount of tourism dollars that are spent here annually.

Every Saturday you can have a copy of our new Weekend Advertiser delivered to your home in Chilton County on Saturday mornings. Give us a call and we can set up your subscription. Weekend combines the Saturday and Sunday editions of The Clanton Advertiser and is delivered to all subscribers as well as available everywhere The Clanton Advertiser is sold throughout the county.

I am excited about the stories Tim and his staff have lined up for coming weeks and believe our Weekend edition will become a favorite of our readers.

Turning to another related matter, I want to express the appreciation of the entire staff here to Pennie Broussard and other members of the Chilton County Chamber of Commerce for their assistance in the Business After Hours held at The Advertiser Thursday night. We certainly enjoyed seeing the many people who dropped in to visit and have their picture taken for a special press run we made during their visit.

In addition to the fellowship we all enjoyed, I understand from most who attended they enjoyed seeing our newspaper press run and being handed copies right off the press of the special edition that included their picture. I understand the fun of watching the edition being printed.

I’ve been watching newspapers being printed for 45 years and my heart still beats a little faster when a newly created newspaper rolls off the press. I’m guilty of having ink in my blood and don’t believe I will ever lose the anticipation and excitement of the birth of a new newspaper every day.

– Mike can be reached at mike.kelley@clantonadvertiser.com.