Happy Birthday, Snellville Patch!

I've never been one for birthday celebrations. ( I just turned 32 by the way.) The reason? I really do not like a lot of attention, never been the eyes-on-me kind of person -- just haven't.

Still, as Snellville Patch puts one whole year behind itself, I wanted to take the time to...breathe, among other things.

I love being a reporter for really one reason. And that's so I can tell people's stories. Most of us just want to be heard, and reporters play a big part in giving voice to the voiceless.

And, because I'm the kind of person who doesn't like to be in the limelight, it makes being a journalist so much more easy. It's never about me.

It's about you all -- the public.

So, thank you to everyone who has read our Patch site in the past year. You've help make this site a well-read publication. We've had more than 1,900 articles!

Thank you to everyone who has allowed me into your life. If even one person has been moved -- in whatever direction -- by your story, your words, then you've help make a difference in someone or something.

Thank you to each and every freelancer who has worked with me. Some of you are still hanging tough -- Crystal Huskey, Jennifer Silas, Raven Nichols, Barbara Myers, Marlene Buchanan and Sarah Bakhitari -- and, I thank you a million times over.

Thank you to every contributor, including all of our readers who helped create content, sent in photos, wrote letters to the editor and became bloggers, among other things.

Thank you to my regional co-workers: Jay Scott, Theresa Waldrop, Kevin Madigan, Scott Bernarde and Leslie Johnson, who have all been there to help me in the past year. 

I'm probably forgetting people (cue Academy Awards you-need-to-leave-the-stage music), but just know that everyone who has had anything to do with bringing Snellville Patch to a year -- that you are greatly appreciated.

Here's to another year. Let's ring in 2012!