By Debbie Hall
Our story begins with you.
As you may or may not know, we began publishing the Henry County Enterprise for one reason – because so many Martinsville-Henry County residents asked us to start a community newspaper. It truly was that simple.
The paper began as a quarterly. Owing to a groundswell of community support, we shifted to a monthly and later transitioned to a weekly.
About two-weeks before that transition, a key staff member left. As you might imagine, there were many sleepless nights fraught with the echoes of discussions about whether to move forward as planned or pull the plug.
Ultimately, we opted to move forward with our publication schedule – primarily because we determined it was important to honor the commitment we made – to you and to the community.
But the transition was not without additional challenges.
For instance, as our weekly publication schedule ramped up, we found it was not possible to deliver the same amount of content as the quarterly and monthly editions allowed- simply due to more stringent deadlines. That was another tough lesson for us, and one that left many of our subscribers and our advertisers wondering what happened.
Then, the pandemic hit and affected us all in ways that likely still are not known.
Like you, and whether in daily life or in our business models, we have made and continue to make, adjustments.
We started with short-term goals to restructure and refine our website as we embarked on a quest to deliver daily online content.
We adjusted our digital subscription rates to offer rock-bottom pricing and give our digital subscribers access to all our publications – in Virginia and West Virginia – as well as state and national news and other content.
We supported local businesses with free ads during much of the pandemic, detailing which restaurants were open. We also published stories about local businesses and their coping strategies while highlighting their products and available services – something that we intend to continue.
Today we continue providing daily online updates. We offer low subscription rates, free online and print obituaries and announcements. We also continue to support local businesses with discounted targeted advertising and published stories on all our media platforms.
We are here for you. Your story is our story.
Visit us online at www.henrycountyenterprise.com.
