Greetings friends,
Don’t you love waking up early to a fresh new day? This is what I love about November. I have just packed up my haunted trick or treat, and made sure that the MAMAs are all wrapped up, and now I am cleaning my gutters and putting away the yard cushions as we get into the fall giving season. As we roll our clocks back, we shift our gears into what we can do for others.
I read the news today, oh boy. You know that we are in for a tough fall as many of the social safety nets start to disappear and the support our own community has never been more important.
Speaking of the news, local news has never been more necessary. It’s so key that we have a common narrative that we can trust. Social media is not news, it’s an algorithm of what you already like. Local news gathering has been savaged across the USA and here in Modesto, we are seeing a local news renaissance. The Modesto Focus brings some of our local favorite reporters back to our community to make sure that we hold power to account and showcase the issues, with real journalistic skill, for us to read and understand. I am proud to have known and worked with Joe Keita and Marijke Rowland over the last 20 years and am happy to introduce you to the Modesto Focus. You can be a MoFo supporter too. Local facts, news and information is so key. Just like ModestoView, we are delivering positive local information that I hope brings us all together so we can make a difference.
Take time to see what you can do to help. I and the ViewCrew will be raising funds for the Salvation Army as our ModSquad of local media promoters get together to support the important work of the Salvation Army. We are also supporting the Modesto Gospel Mission and the United Samaritans Food delivery services this season. Please make a donation and read how you can help in this issue.
Thanks to all that voted for the MAMAs. Thanks Middagh Goodwin for being the MAMA champion as we continue to work to showcase live music in the Modesto area. It was so wonderful to have so many different genres of music celebrated in one night. It was really special and when Chris Ricci and I created this 26 years ago, we had no idea we would be doing this today. Now we look forward to our next project that brings us together with Rockin’ Holiday beginning Dec 6 in 10th St Plaza.
Now, it’s time to gather. As we give thanks for what we have and who we are with, we need to cherish our relationships and the time we have together. I am thankful to our friends that really lift us up. Remember to take a break, put down your phones, walk in the leaves, let your dogs play, go for a run in the park and take time to breathe. You need it. We all need it. Live moves fast so take time to live it.
Much gratitude to our Sierra Pacific Warehouse Group team as they work hard keeping the food supply chain moving and allowing me to be involved in our community. As we get closer to Thanksgiving, I am thankful for our local businesses, that thanks to their advertising, we are able to design, print and deliver ModestoView to celebrate the best in local business and activities. This is what makes our community work together.
I wish you all the best for Thanksgiving and hope that your family times are special and you make many great memories. I hope to see you out and about so we can share what makes us all love living and working in Modesto.
With gratitude from our family to yours,
Chris Murphy
Publisher & Founder ModestoView.
chrism@modestoview.com
