First of all, a little pat on the back to those of us who toil, endlessly and mercilessly, to bring you, dear readers, this wonderful little publication each and every week.

If you haven’t already made it to page 18, you might not yet know that The Valley Echo has earned national recognition as one of this country’s top newspapers for 2013 in the circulation class of 1,250 to 1,999.

This is in addition to having secured a nomination in General Excellence for the Ma Murray Provincial Awards, the outcome of which will be determined at a big gala celebration in Vancouver at the end of April.

That is, count them, four podium placements (as the Ma Murray nomination will land us a first,  second or third place standing regardless) for the little heritage community newspaper that could.

To be fair, our (incredibly talented, creative and brilliant) team can’t take all the credit. When I first started working for The Valley Echo almost two years ago, I vowed in my introduction article that the Echo’s contribution to local society would be a sincere reflection of the valley commmunity it serves.

Thus, a hearty congratulations is in order to all the movin’ and shakin’ individuals who make up the valley’s dynamic tapestry of place and give us so much award-winning content to work with.

Take, for instance, the Columbia River Greenways Alliance. Here is an example of an enterprising group of people with diverse interests coming together to create a fabulous amenity for both valley residents and tourists for decades to come.

A paved trail connecting the Village of Radium Hot Springs and Invermere will put the Columbia Valley on the map alongside other similar and extremely well-marketed multi-use trails. And congratulations to Radium council for recently contributing a significant amount of funding to the project. The entire valley is waiting in anticipation for this project to unfold — and our award-winning news team will be there to capture the moment, and magic, when it does.