Thank you for 15 years!

This week marks the 15th year of The Daniel Island News bringing news, features, and advertising to your doorsteps, places of business, computers and phones. We are extremely thankful to the Daniel Island community, our readers and our advertisers, for the ongoing support you offer and for the privilege to serve you. To demonstrate our appreciation, throughout the next year, the paper will bring you new features, events and surprises. But first, a little history.

The very first edition of the paper, the cover reproduced here, hit the streets on October 30, 2003. I remember delivering the first edition on my bike, in the dark, with my bike basket and backpack laden down with papers.

The first edition was only 16 pages, but it was packed full of news about our community, residents, and businesses. I planned the first edition to coincide with the Race for the Cure and Park Day. Back in those days, both events were held on Daniel Island on the same day. A local 17-year-old Bishop England student, Morgan Tate, won the Race for the Cure. Morgan was also our regular babysitter. Other inaugural edition news included a feature on local business Daniel Island Pet Sitters, run by Rona Bobey and Debbie Johnstone. Both women and their families still live on Daniel Island. Like this edition of the paper, the first edition was also an election edition and we featured a question and answer with the candidates for mayor: Tom Doyle, Kwadjo Campbell, Jimmy Bailey, Marc Knapp, and Joe Riley. You can read the full October 30, 2003 edition online at www.thedanielisalndnews.com, under the E-Edition section.

Shortly after that first issue we introduced “Kids Say,” which continues to be a popular weekly feature. I have special memories of neighborhood kids sitting at my kitchen counter, eating cookies, and writing out their “Kids Say” responses to the questions I posed!

Our first edition was rough – it didn’t look good but it did carry the news. Over the years, the paper has improved in look, quality, size and quantity and has been on the receiving end of many reporting, design and advertising awards.

It’s fun to reminisce about the first edition and the early years, but we are not stuck there. Throughout the years, we’ve stayed current and found new ways to bring you the news. We added our website in 2005, and upgraded it over the years. We also share the news via social media platforms. And, as part of our 15-year anniversary celebration, we are launching a “DI News App,” which will be available for Android and Apple products in the next several weeks.

Our 15-year anniversary celebration will be a year-long thank you to the community.

Thank you to our advertisers. Without our advertisers, we would not have the resources to gather and report the news. Our first edition included advertisements from Qwik Pak & Ship and Dr. Lucy Davis – both of these businesses still advertise in our pages. Over the years, we’ve had the privilege to help many other businesses promote themselves.

Thank you to our readers. We appreciate when our readers share their news and story ideas with us – it helps us bring the news and events to you. We also appreciate the criticisms, as they make us better!

Thank you to our staff. We have a small but dedicated staff of reporters, advertising salespeople, graphic artists, office support and carriers. Our staff is committed to gathering the news and advertising, making it look good, and ensuring that it is delivered in a timely fashion. We haven’t missed an edition since the first edition 15 years ago.

Thank you to our support teams, which includes our printer, web and app developers, business consultants, mentors, cybersecurity personnel and the South Carolina Press Association.

This week, we introduce our new 15-year anniversary logo (cover, top left), we add a 15-years- ago section to our history column (page 42), and we re-introduce a popular feature from our early years – the Mystery Photo (page 44). Over the next year, in addition to launching the app, we will hold several special community thank you events (a dance, a charity kickball tournament, a happy hour and more). From time to time we will include additional features and photos from our staff, including our favorite covers, photos, stories and a then and now review from some of our top stories and photos over the years. Look for our new t-shirts at the upcoming Daniel Island Holiday Festival and be on the look-out for our special giveaways and drop-ins.

“Promoting the power of community,” our masthead motto, was introduced in the first edition of the paper, carried forward through the years, and recommitted for the next 15 years and beyond.

Thank you and we hope you enjoy the new features, events, and other surprises we have planned for you.