Editor's Notebook: Patch.com Celebrates Launch of its 100th Site

Today we mark a milestone in Patch history. Today's opening of Morristown Patch marks the 100^th Patch site.

Wow!

It seems like just yesterday – ok, more like 14 months ago (June 3, 2009) – that Westfield Patch launched. The fourth Patch site in the country and only the second time a Patch site had launched – the first three had launched on the same day (February 2009) all in New Jersey. Now here we are, 100 sites in nine states, spanning the entire breadth of the country and three time zones. Pretty amazing stuff.

Here's just a few fun facts about Patch the company. As you know in June 2009 AOL acquired Patch Media with a commitment to expanding in the local sphere, including a $50 million investment in Patch. Since then we've had our expansion into the nine states and have produced more than 55,000 articles and nearly 1 million photos nationwide.

But I want to talk a bit about Westfield Patch and what we've done here over the past 14 months and our little corner of the Patch universe. It's been an amazing journey here in Westfield and one that I continue to be excited to be a part of. No offense to my colleagues in the 99 other live Patch sites, but I believe I'm pretty lucky to have one of the best towns in the country to cover!

For a quick overview of all things Westfield Patch. We've published over 2,000 stories, thousands of original photos, hours of video, been to countless events, attended numerous government meetings, covered many sporting events and have had 94 bylined contributors. I've attended events and meetings for many of the non-profits in town, visited every school in town more than once, been to many of the houses of worship and consumed an amount of Starbucks coffee that is equivalent to the GDP of a small country. And oh yeah, I believe I got some sleep in there.

I've covered some pretty amazing things for Patch. One of the best is also one of the most recent – my day with the National Guard up at Camp Smith from last week. There was my February trip to the curling club in South Plainfield to learn how to curl. Another which stands out is the parade following the girls swim team winning the state championship this winter, just to see the level of support for the team and how quickly it was organized was great.

Some of the more on-going topics have included the aftermath of Gov. Chris Christie's education cuts and covering the immediate impact on the ground here in Westfield, including the ever changing political landscape on the ground here in terms of education policy. The impact was felt dramatically in town and watching the changes and reaction unfold in real time is one of those stories a reporter hopes to cover; along with the changed reality for local government in Westfield and across New Jersey, which continues to change.

I have told many people and I continue to believe that there is no better time to cover local news in New Jersey and to do it in a new media form, as part of a brand new company, is truly amazing. I really do love my job! Having the chance to be a part of Patch and to be editor here in Westfield is an amazing experience and one that I enjoy everyday.

There is a lot of talk today about the 100^th Patch and being the fourth Patch editor have a site go live it is an amazing experience to see today happen and see us reach 100. At the same time I want to reiterate a commitment I have made to you and continue to make. While Patch itself has grown, here at Westfield Patch I remain – and our team of freelancers remains – committed to delivering news that impacts you, the reader. This is the mission of Patch and what we strive for everyday. We are here to be your online daily newspaper in Westfield and continue on that mission.

As a journalist you don't often get the chance to be a part of a start-up, something that is truly reinventing journalism in this country. To be a part of this has been – and continues to be – an amazing experience. I cannot wait for what the future brings for Patch and for us here in Westfield.

Go Blue Devils!