Well, the New Year is almost here! Happy New Year! Happy 2023! Is that true? Is it really 2023? NO WAY! REALLY? To me, that is an unbelievable reality. It doesn’t seem possible to that it can actually be 2023. For those of us born in the 1960’s, that means we are either over 50 years old on the lower end or slightly over 60 years old on the upper end. That doesn’t seem real either. But once again, there is the “R” word “Reality.” I hope and pray that you and your family had both a very BLESSED and a very MERRY CHRISTmas! Also, I wish you ALL an extremely blessed and most prosperous New Year for 2023!
As with both 2020 and 2021, 2022 had its challenges. There were tough times in one way or another for most ALL of us. So many unforgettable things have happened over the last couple of years. The pandemic has changed our lives in so many ways. And in some ways, normalcy (as we formerly knew it) will never exist again. If you are like me, you have not dealt well with many of the changes. However, on the other hand, many of the changes have made things better for us all. I am ready to put 2022 behind me and move on. I am sure that most of you feel that way too.
The New Year always brings many opportunities for all of us! I love brainstorming and exploring new opportunities! I am a positive person by nature. So, the “O” word really gets my heart racing! Truthfully, the “O’ word really gets my mind spinning with all kinds of plans! In the New Year, we all get a chance for a fresh start. The New Year gives us
the opportunity for a new beginning. This causes us to turn our focus toward the things that we most want to accomplish in the New Year. In the New Year, we will have many chances to maximize the opportunities that will come our way. Of course, the reality of life is that we will also face some challenges in the New Year. These challenges will affect and influence us personally and they will make us stronger. We will face personal challenges, but there will also be challenges (as always) for our city, our state our nation and our world.
I am really looking forward to 2023. And, as most of us tend to do with the start of the each new year, I have set lots of personal goals upon which I am very anxious to get started right away. I have been asking myself a several questions over the last few weeks in relation to the plans that I have made (the goals that I have set) for 2023. Do I have the vision and the persistence necessary to make my goals become reality? Can I maximize all of the opportunities that will come my way? Am I seeing clearly in terms my action plan for achieving the goals that I have set for myself? As I have mentioned so many times before in my columns, my Dad always used to say that hindsight is 20/20 vision. Well, I plan to use what I have learned in 2022 (and throughout my life) in order to craft a better vision, a better plan for 2023.
At MPH, we also have some goals that we have set for 2023. We have some big things planned for your newspaper. Please know that we can never pass up the opportunity to say “Thank You’ to our highly valued readers and advertisers. Thank you for your support, your friendship and your encouragement. Without you, we would have no vehicle to drive. Without you, we would not be here.
As the Publisher of your newspaper, I promise you that in 2023, our team will be even more committed to chronicling the history of Webster Parish as it happens. As such, it is our hopeful and aggressive plan that 2023 will bring many positive changes to your newspaper, as we constantly focus upon improving our publication in a concerted effort to change and to grow with our ever-changing and ever-growing Webster Parish community that we all love so dearly!
Randy Brown is Vice President of Specht Newspapers, Inc., and publisher of the Minden Press-Herald.