Considering we just marked the official start of fall a few days ago, February may seem like a long ways off — except that isn’t much time at all when it comes to uncovering our “hidden gems” and marking a 35-year milestone.

That is what the staff at Leader Publications is already focused on as we begin work on our annual Horizons edition of the newspaper. This year’s “Community Treasures” theme, we believe, will absolutely resonate with our readers.

Evolving into this landmark edition over the past three and a half decades, Horizons is now a 100-plus page annual publication that we feel showcases our best work in terms of writing, photography, design and advertising. Horizons focuses on human-interest stories that highlight some of the great people in southwest Michigan and northern Indiana, as well as some of the unique features that makes this region so special.

Last year, stories ranged from how families deal with a loved one serving their country overseas to showcasing emergency responders to celebrating some of the amazing businesses that create a strong foundation within our communities.

Again this year, we will feature Unsung Heroes — individuals who are nominated by you, our readers — to recognize some of the men and women who go above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to making a difference. Stay tuned in upcoming weeks for the official nomination forms or feel free to shoot me an email now to nominate someone you feel deserves recognition.

Expected to reach more than 22,000 readers as our most-read edition — a colleague likes to call it our Super Bowl of newspapers — it is a great way for advertisers to say thank you to long-time supporters and plant a seed in the minds of potential customers.

In keeping with our theme, we hope advertisers will work with our marketing experts to show why their business is unique and celebrate the “treasures” they call employees.

Horizons will be on the streets and in your mailbox if you are a subscriber to one of our four paid newspapers on Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016.

You will be hearing lots more about it as we work to make this the best edition ever and raise the bar for the next 35 years.

 

Michael Caldwell is the publisher of Leader Publications LLC. He can be reached at (269) 687-7700 or by email at mike.caldwell@leaderpub.com.