A well-attended coffee with the editor event at The Black Dog in Snoqualmie has led me to one conclusion — there are areas where we can make improvements.

Holding local governments accountable, comprehensive watchdog reporting, local events, and local voices all are important to readers. And that’s really not surprising. Those are important to me as an editor and as a consumer of news.

I am taking a hard look at what we’re doing and how we’re doing it, and that’s where I’ll start. From there, I plan to apply the feedback to improve the Valley Record. And that was always the goal of the coffee with the editor event — to gather feedback to improve the Valley Record.

There’s an excuse smaller newspapers like the Record tend to toss out: “We don’t have enough resources.” In some ways, that’s true, but much of the feedback we discussed during the coffee with the editor event on Jan. 11 can not be waved away with a simple excuse like a lack of resources. When the parts are all moving, albeit in a small way, that excuse applies — given the feedback received, I’m not sure the parts are all moving correctly. And we will fix that.

And the coffee with the editor event has served another function. It has opened a new line of communication between readers and the editor. I’m committed to maintaining that line of communication and hopefully fostering relationships the Valley Record’s stakeholders.

I plan to continue being available in person on a monthly basis.

Please come see me every third Friday of the month from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. at The Black Dog in Snoqualmie (8062 Railroad Ave.). Let’s keep the conversation going.

The next third Friday is Feb. 15. I look forward to continuing our vital discussions.