To all of you who read and support the Eastern Shore Cooperator:
Richard and I are happy to announce that we have become landed immigrants and will be able to share all of the great weather on the Eastern Shore year round with all of you!
Seriously, we are thrilled. We became owners of the newspaper in August 2016, and have been working with a great team: Gina Dunn, one of the founders of the newspaper, Jacqueline Sanford, and Tara Dunn, with help from our regular and new writers, and with the support of Nick Carroll and Jessie Greenough and our advertisers. I came in as Publisher when we needed someone with recent management experience to oversee the operations.
And here we are, ready to commit full time to the beautiful communities along the Shore and in the Valley: to telling your stories, amplifying discussions, investigating concerns, celebrating successes, sharing upcoming events, reflecting on the past, and making our voices heard. You may be reading this in the print version, mailed to over 13,000 households, or online on the website, or on the Cooperator Facebook page—but wherever you are seeing this, know that the Cooperator is here to be your local newspaper.
We need your support in many ways: buying ads, supporting our advertisers, sharing information, helping us research stories, giving feedback to the writers, and being the great neighbors we have come to love already.
Richard and I are CFAs who found the Eastern Shore by happy accident. We bought our house on East Petpeswick in 2008, and quickly discovered what a vibrant and positive community we had stumbled into. Since 2008, we have had the pleasure of exploring many communities along the Shore, each with unique strengths and shared concerns. And we have witnessed the power of Shore folks’ activism, entrepreneurship, and ability to throw great parties, complete with live music and great food.
In 2016 we purchased 11 East Petpeswick as a home for the newspaper. We hope to make it into a lively place where we produce the best community paper in the province, host films and discussions about issues of community concern, and mentor young people who want to be journalists. (With an occasional pop-up pub!)
Richard comes from a background in journalism, politics, and environmental concerns. He has been a writer, editor, researcher, and online communications specialist for the Democratic Party, John Kerry, the Worldwatch Institute, and the Post Carbon Institute, among others. I am a soon-to-be-retired Professor of Dance and Theatre at the University of Maryland, with a background in dance therapy, movement analysis, arts education, administration, advocacy, and more. I plan to become more involved in the arts groups along the Shore and to renew my dance and movement therapy practices.
We are beyond thrilled to be your neighbors as new landed immigrants in this wonderful country.
--Karen Bradley, Publisher
