Happy Anniversary to…GOOD Morning Wilton!
One year ago today we began this auspicious experiment, taking the hyperlocal news plunge and starting GMW from scratch. With no backing from any media company, with just the idea that very local news could be positive, original, fair and covered by people who live and breathe the issues and events in town, we launched this website.
Of course, we knew that the essential ingredient everyone would respond to was so key, that we put it right in the title, in all caps: GOOD. Finding the good in Wilton and sharing it has been the not-so-secret element that we knew would guarantee GMW.com‘s success. On top of that, the more GOOD news we report, the more GOOD news we find out about and are able to report on.
What a year it’s been! We’ve covered incredible Wilton stories, like the one about Wilton High School seniors who chose Kate Ukropina, their classmate who has special needs, as prom queen. Or the story about Hubenson “Ubie” Anicette, a Wilton school bus driver who lost everything in a house fire–a story that readers responded to by raising more than $6,000 in two days to help him afford rent on a new apartment.
We’ve covered some controversies as well, like indoor air quality at Miller-Driscoll Elementary School, parent-abetted teen drinking, and the furor over a planned development at 44 Westport Rd.
Right from the start people embraced GMW.com. They did so by responding to our stories with actions that spoke loudly with kindness. They let us know how much they appreciated our approach to news. They ‘liked’ us on Facebook, subscribed to our daily newsletter, and came back day after day to learn more about their neighbors and local businesses and issues in town. And they maintained an online community of respect, with snark-free comments that kept the conversation going and enlightened the discussion, just as we knew it could be.
We’ve tried to stay true to our core mission–to get people involved in local issues and connected to one another. We’ve created partnerships, with the Wilton Chamber of Commerce, Wilton Go Green, and the Wilton Newcomers Club, and linked with retailers like Blue Star Bazaar and Lace Affaire on innovative shopping events to support local businesses. We’ve appreciated the support that our advertisers have given GOOD Morning Wilton to enable us to keep growing this mission. We’re excited by the prospect of new relationships, and can’t wait to share them with you.
Thank you for taking the leap with us, for reading us and taking part in this noble community–both virtual and real. Wilton is an amazing town, and we’re honored to be able to hopefully help keep it vibrant, strong and connected. Here’s to many, many more happy–and GOOD–years to come!