I’d been asking for 2020.

Don’t take that statement to mean I’m taking responsibility for the awful pandemic that has ravaged our community, our nation and the world. Nor is it intended to imply I deserve to be punished for something. I hadn’t realized until I was in the thick of it, but subconsciously, I’ve been desperate for a personal and professional reset or affirmation, and 2020 certainly did that.

And I’m grateful for it.

I love what I do and know what working for a community newspaper means to me personally. But after nearly 25 years with The Observer and Baker City Herald, I’d temporarily lost sight of how crucial our news reporting is to the communities we live in and serve. The universe intervened.

For many of us, 2020 was of the likes of which none of us has ever experienced before and, hopefully, will never see again. Communities and entire states on lockdown. Hospitals and intensive care units overflowing with the afflicted. Record-high unemployment. Schools and classrooms sit dark. Small retail businesses and restaurants — the heart and soul of our local economy — shuttered. Political and civil uncertainty and unrest.

The devastating list goes on.

Since the onset of the pandemic, I’ve been reminded daily about the importance of vetted media sources and our own local reporting through emails, phone calls and social media, our loyal readers coming to us for the answers to the questions that were keeping them up at night. New readers joined our “family” so they could stay up to date on the impact of the pandemic on our communities through our accurate and timely reporting. As 2020 marched on, though, something familiar stirred inside of me — pride.

The year has restored my pride in the work of The Observer and Baker City Herald, our company’s other publications across the state and other community newspapers from coast to coast. What we do matters. It’s crucial. You validate that with each edition you collect from your mailbox, each time you visit our website, each interaction on our social media pages and with each story you share with friends, family and neighbors.

It’s with the deepest gratitude that I thank you, readers new and old and our local business community. You have reminded me how important the work my staff and I do every day is to the communities we serve.

It’s a big responsibility and one that we take seriously. After all, there’s no stronger community than one that is well informed.

There’s no question 2020 required strength in spades.

And we delivered.

Together.

For that, I am grateful.

Karrine Brogoitti is publisher of the Baker City Herald and The Observer in La Grande.