To our loyal readers,

In a few short weeks, our world has truly changed. And once the COVID-19 pandemic passes, we will be a different society, one where shaking hands is no longer the polite norm, and social distancing and wearing face masks when leaving the house is erring on the side of caution.

As we as a community continue to move forward, there are still many unknowns. One of the unknowns is what the Snoqualmie Valley Record newspaper will look like, when this is all over, or if it will ultimately survive this devastated economy.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exerted financial pressures on the Valley Record like we’ve never experienced through two World Wars, the Great Recession and even the Great Depression. Like many other businesses this past month, we have gone into survival mode. With the lockdown, we saw most of our local advertising revenue fall through the floor. The steadfast advertiser partners who were able to remain with us are indeed a bright light through these difficult times. We will be ever grateful to them.

Through it all, the Valley Record’s 107-year commitment to local community journalism, and to keeping our readers informed and connected has not changed. More than ever our readers are craving information about their neighbors and their community. Our team of reporters and editors are working remotely, so it may take more time than usual to contact us. Sadly though, like many essential businesses, we’ve still had to lay off some of our wonderful and hard-working staff, while others went from full time to 24 hours per week. Despite that, we are all pushing through this and are diligently monitoring our phone messages and emails. We will be glad to hear from you.

During the past month, we’re also seeing many new subscribers to the Valley Record signing up – and our website traffic and social media followers are through the roof! To help Valley residents at this time, we will continue to cover critical news and get it to you in print and on our website at valleyrecord.com.

We hope that you realize and value the critical role of local journalism in the Valley, and I invite you to support your Snoqualmie Valley Record in this important mission by becoming a subscriber today. To become a digital or home delivery print subscriber, please visit valleyrecord.com/support and subscribe.

We thank you for your support of the Record and wish you all of the best during this difficult time.

William Shaw

General manager