Opening today’s Sunday edition of The Daily Leader, you noticed the weight of the package differed from recent Sunday newspapers. Don’t let that surprise you! The staff and I call this special edition PROGRESS. It was written and produced in its entirety by the men and women who are dedicated employees of your community newspaper.

We began planning this special edition in December. Our intent for this project was to review, measure and project the past, present and future of Brookhaven, Lincoln County and communities of Southwest Mississippi that The Daily Leader is privileged to serve.

During our discussions, staff members commented that while the recession hit this area hard, there continued to be exciting, progressive events that warranted additional coverage. The edition covers five topics: government, education, business, health and community. These topics are a reflection of the many activities that take place regularly allowing opportunities to learn, work, play, be healthy and worship.

Our staff hopes you will spend time reading and enjoying the fruits of their almost four-month effort. We hope you will learn more facts about your community and how you may become more involved. By doing so, our community will see stronger results and our future progress will exceed that which you are reading about in today’s edition.

While I am very pleased with the effort of the staff’s time investment, we could not have completed this edition without the help of many of our readers. Part of the planning process was to include as many of you as possible. We requested information, and you provided it. That’s a partnership between The Daily Leader and its readers that produced strong results for the community.

This special PROGRESS edition contains 44 pages of news stories, photographs and 65 advertisements. This results from more than 200 sales calls to businesses, churches, government officials, schools and employers.

While possibly repetitive, I’m very proud of the staff effort of The Daily Leader making this edition possible. I want our readers to understand that this newspaper staff is dedicated to producing daily editions that lead the community toward a progressive and prosperous future.

Thank you to The Daily Leader Advertising staff who made these 200 sales calls. Thank you to Creative Services for preparing and placing the ads and building the pages of this special edition. Thanks to the Editorial staff who wrote and edited the stories and made the photographs.

Kudos to the Business Office staff who managed this additional workload for PROGRESS. Thanks to the Pressroom crew that printed 10 extra sections in the week leading up to publication. Thanks to the mailroom crew that built and assembled the package. A big thank you all the newspaper carriers who delivered this special edition. Most of all, we thank YOU, our loyal and valuable advertisers and subscribers.

Together we will work to ensure that PROGRESS 2015 provides a stronger and more progressive vision.

We pledge the newspaper’s resources, combined with community support, to produce daily and special editions that lead in the development of a stronger future for Brookhaven and Lincoln County. Let’s build a community that reflects its respect for its past, a community actively engaged in the present and a community that desires continued growth and prosperity.

Otis Raybon is the publisher of The Daily Leader. Contact him at otis.raybon@dailyleader.com or (601) 833-6961.