POTTER: Thank you to the Dickinson community

Dear Dickinson area,

I am leaving The Press after accepting an offer with another newspaper in Harrisonburg, Va., but I wanted to take a second before I go to thank you all for everything you have taught me during my time here. North Dakotans have proved to be some of the most hardworking people I have ever met, and I thank you all for your kindness.

I want to thank the city commission for taking time after meetings to explain things to me. I want to thank the county commission for keeping their early-morning meetings so lively and entertaining. I want to thank the state representatives for fielding my calls late into the evening during the legislative session. I want to thank the city and county staff for working with me to get messages out to the public.

And I want to thank the people of Dickinson for your stories, tips, ideas, and most importantly, the privilege of getting to share them.

I want to especially thank my publisher, Harvey Brock, who I know is the greatest boss I will ever have; Sydney Mook for constantly remaining on top of everything going on in the community; Linda Sailer for being a shining example of a true journalist; and Parker Cotton for being my sounding board.

With that, I would also like to take a moment to acknowledge the power of the press and the power of the community to make us better.

A few months ago, The Dickinson Press published a story about an eighth-grade boy in the area who was undergoing surgery to remove a mass from his skull, an operation that was both incredibly emotionally taxing on his family as well as a financial concern. An anonymous man read that story, visited the boy and gave him an undisclosed donation-enough to cover his medical bills up to that point.

Journalism is so important and it can make a real impact on the community. But despite all the negative (though often necessary) coverage out there, every now and then we get to write about something that might have a significant impact on someone in need.

So, in my incredibly biased opinion, I wanted to put a plug out there for local journalists and the importance of supporting all media, but especially those outlets in your community. They are the ones on the ground in the snow reporting on road conditions, interviewing your children after their baseball games and helping keep your city, county and school officials accountable. And every now and then we have the privilege of writing about those doing amazing things.

I ask that you do more than just read the articles shared on Facebook. Subscribe to your local paper-it will probably cost less than $1 a day. Watch your nightly local news channel. Pause and give a quote to the TV reporter standing in the rain asking for local opinions. Let us know the amazing things you, your family members or friends are doing to make a difference. And hold us accountable. Email us if our facts are wrong or if our stories are biased. Submit letters to the editor. Make us better. One day, we might be the ones reporting from your state houses, from the White House, from the NFL draft or from a war zone.

But the industry is struggling financially. Newsrooms cannot afford the same number of reporters they once could and reporters often don't have as much time to devote to investigative or more in-depth stories. So I ask that you support them because all levels are being affected-from ESPN to your weekly paper.

Please support your local journalists so they can better share the stories important to your community.

Sincerely,

Ellie Potter