A newly formed Reader Advisory Board should yield better products for readers of The Clanton Advertiser and its various other publications.

Members of the newly formed board were selected from numerous nominations in an effort to make certain all areas and facets of the community were represented.

“The reader advisory board is going to be a great way for the newspaper to interact with the community,” Managing Editor Justin Averette said. “At its heart, the newspaper doesn’t belong to us, it belongs to the community. That’s why it’s important to hear from our readers, to see what they think about the newspaper and how we can improve.”

The board’s first meeting was held Thursday at the Advertiser office. Present were: Rex Bittle of Caraba, Elizabeth Byrd of the Chilton County Arts Council, Phil Burnette of the U.S. Corps of Chaplains, Tracia Bussey of the Swedish Festival, Brian Dovey of Clanton First United Methodist Church, Debbie Jones of Peoples Southern Bank, Marsha Littleton of the University of Montevallo, Mike Robertson of the Chilton County Chamber of Commerce, Averette and Tim Prince, publisher of The Clanton Advertiser.

Participants in Thursday’s meeting gave brief introductions and then took a tour of the Advertiser office. The meeting concluded with general observations and suggestions about the Advertiser and its related digital and print products.

“We’ll use feedback gathered from meetings to make sure we are telling the stories that matter most to Chilton County residents,” Averette said. “The board will also provide extra eyes and ears in the community, helping generate future content ideas.

“We’re counting on honest opinions, constructive criticism and the opportunity to share knowledge and insights and we sincerely appreciate these local community leaders helping us better serve our community.”