To Fredericksburg Patch Readers and Contributors: Thanks

FREDERICKSBURG, VA—Well. It's been nearly eight years since Fredericksburg Patch launched. Whether you were late to the party or an early curiosity seeker who decided to stick around and give this start-up local news site a chance, we sincerely thank you for the patronage.

Fredericksburg Patch — it went live on Dec. 17, 2010 — is one of 36 such sites in Virginia, and it's one of the more high-performing ones, at that. Professional friends of this reporter have always thought that's because the Fredericksburg-Stafford-Spotsylvania Triad, as it were, sits smack dab between the DC area and the Richmond area.

No. 1, that makes you one of the more sophisticated and knowledgeable audiences in the state. No. 2, with no Fredericksburg-centric TV station and the venerable and justifiably venerated Free Lance-Star notwithstanding, another outlet focused exclusively on the city and its immediate neighbors necessarily has a receptive readership.

In August alone, nearly 83,000 folks visited Fredericksburg Patch, up some 6,000 from the same month a year ago. Those figures — compiled and verified through Google Analytics — include readers on desktop, laptop, tablet, mobile and our app, and our visitors often access Patch on several devices over the month.

Here are some of the most-read articles in Fredericksburg Patch the past few weeks:

• OBX House Fire Crimps Vacation For Fredericksburg Man
• Hurricane Florence: Fredericksburg Declares State Of Emergency
• 79 Violations At One Place: Fredericksburg Restaurant Inspections
• Hurricane Florence: Virginia Tech, U.Va. Alter Football Plans
• Stafford WOW House: $15M For Your Very Own Private Island
• Air Jordan Scam Busted In Stafford: Police
• Decatur Crabs Burglars Sought In Fredericksburg
• Central Park Adding Multi-Level Go-Kart Track In Fredericksburg
• Fredericksburg 2018-19 School Calendar

As for me, I'm Skip Wood, your local editor. Been soaking in Fredericksburg-area vibes for two years, now. My previous full-time stops, in chronological order: the Daily News-Record in Harrisonburg (JMU sports), the Richmond Times-Dispatch (Virginia Tech football, NASCAR), USA Today (NASCAR, National Football League) and the website for WJLA 's Channel 7 in Greater Washington (Daybreak Daily, politics).

Yes, I may have covered sports for the bulk of my career, but a journalist is a journalist—no matter the beat. Send your tips, ideas and questions my way at skipwood@patch.com. Actually, I've a question of my own I've been meaning to pursue: Why won't Macado's open an outlet here? RIP Spanky's.

Meanwhile, Fredericksburg Patch contributors are among the best out there. For example, Collette Caprara is great on the local arts scene, and the calendar has become something of a must-read for those looking to see what the city offers.

Speaking of which, this is one of my favorite Patch exercises, and it just shows how cool our readers are:

Things Fredericksburg Is Missing, According To Readers

Responses from readers were so incredibly cool and informative, if not provocative. If you'd like to post on Frederickburg Patch unsolicited, it's easy to sign up for a free user profile. As a Patch user, you can post articles, events, jobs, and announcements. And the "rules of Patch" are easy to follow: "no abusive content, no commercial spam, keep it local, and be awesome."

While many news websites are limiting access to free articles, Patch articles and events by our journalists and community contributors are always free to view. Simply out, it's both gratifying and humbling that you've made Fredericksburg Patch a part of your life. Thank's again for your support and readership.

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Image via Patch editor Skip Wood