February Letter from the Editor

Dear Good News Toronto Readers,

February marks our Fourth Year Anniversary! What a tribute to the wonderful team behind this Little Paper with the Big Heart.

The word “anniversary” evokes thoughts and images of a marriage; my relationship with Good News Toronto has certainly had all the characteristics of one for me! Like all marriages, it requires attention, nurturing, caring, and commitment. It requires work in order for it to succeed, to last.

My courtship with the newspaper was about a year — that is, the period from the moment I thought of the idea to the actual first printing day. There was so much learning that needed to happen, since I had no knowledge about this industry. We were complete strangers. As we befriended each other, I grew stronger in my conviction that this was meant to be.  It gathered momentum as friends encouraged me and support came from interested writers.

February 5, 2008: the “Wedding Day” had plenty of jittery nerves. I was introducing Good News Toronto to the city of Toronto. Our auspicious start day included an interview with Andy Barrie on CBC’s Metro Morning — certainly a memory for a lifetime. The newspaper was making its first appearance on the TTC subway station newsstands. Although it did not make the huge splash I had envisioned, it did raise some eyebrows and intrigued some like-minded citizens who have since become contributors.

The years since have been filled with many fabulously joyous moments. This marriage has allowed me to meet the most exceptional Torontonians — the dedicated GNT writers, the wonderful GNT heroes, and the generous GNT contributors and supporters. It has allowed me to experience profound events like my trip to Sandy Lake First Nation December 2008; my delightful monthly visits with children in their classrooms to thank them for their contributions; my latest adventure of helping on a Habitat for Humanity build. My life has been enriched beyond what I could have imagined when I entered this journey.

But like all marriages, the road is not always smooth. There are definitely trials and tribulations. There have been times when I thought about giving up. It seemed like working at the relationship was much more struggle than pleasure. Aren’t marriages supposed to bring happiness? Well, I have learned to persevere, not give up. Keeping focused on the vision — celebrating these remarkable people who make Toronto the vibrant community that it is — has allowed me to not be dissuaded by obstacles that will inevitably come up along the way. I am holding on to my commitment.

And, like all marriages, to ensure that the relationship stays strong we have had to explore different ways to keep fresh and flexible. At the moment, we cannot afford to print this publication. We have therefore focused our attention on the Good News Toronto website; we are adding new columns and new features.

An extremely important part of the relationship is you: our family and friends.  You sustain us and keep us connected. You are our source of objectivity, and therefore can most accurately discern what we need to make us the best we can be. We need you — your comments, suggestions, and feedback, negative and positive, to keep us relevant. We know it is for our own good.

We are still relative newlyweds, and hopefully we will have a long, vibrant, healthy life together.

I hope you decide to celebrate with us by taking the time to let us know what draws you to Good News Toronto. Please tell us what you think is the magic of marriage.

As well as all the current features please enjoy all the past issues of Good News Toronto in the archives section of the website: http://www.goodnewstoronto.ca/pdf-archives/.

I am genuinely grateful for your participation in and support of Good News Toronto.
Have a fabulous February!

Fondly,
Eva Karpati
Publisher/Editor
evakarpati@goodnewstoronto.ca