Now for the next year and beyond

Time flies when you're having fun - and while editing the Rotorua Daily Post is a reasonably serious occupation, I enjoy my job and the 365 days since we relaunched the newspaper as a morning compact edition have gone quickly.

You should remember our March 11, 2013, launch edition - it was a whopper. We were extra keen to make an impact from the get-go, so we put our foot down and haven't taken it off the gas yet. So much has happened in the city in the past 12 months - not least a shake-up at the Rotorua District Council which saw first a new chief executive then at election a new mayor and some new councillors. More recently the Chamber of Commerce announced its chief executive would be stepping down. The city enters a new era under new leadership.

Other big stories in the past year included the reopening of a cold case involving the 1979 murder of Rodney Tahu that led to the jailing of Rotorua man Menzies Hallett, the conclusion of the Western Rd sinking homes saga, the unsolved killings of George Taiaroa and Israel Jack, and the renewed drive to improve the Rotorua CBD.

For staff at the Rotorua Daily Post, not only did we enjoy a successful relaunch, our efforts were recognised with the Pacific Area Newspaper of the Year Award at a gala event in Sydney. Janine Davy was named Advertising Manager of the Year and Stephen Parker was Portrait Photographer of the Year at the same awards. On top of that our reporters Matthew Martin, Katie Holland and Katee Shanks were recognised as the best in the APN Regional group.

And towards the end of 2013, something that started out as a bad news story turned into something amazing.

Partway through our Christmas Appeal for the Salvation Army foodbank, thieves broke into their offices and stole food that had been donated for needy families.

Shocked readers reacted in force, with donations of food and money flooding in, leading to a record result nearly doubling the previous year's.

It turned out to be one of my favourite stories of the year because it really demonstrated the sense of community among Rotorua locals.

Now, one year into our new look, we're not resting on our laurels. We have the next 12 months and beyond to think about. We've made a lot of changes and improvements in the past year but that doesn't mean we don't have more up our sleeves.

Watch this space.