Lauren Rosenblum Bids Farewell to Encino

What an incredible year this has been.

Encino Patch—and my formal career as a journalist—was launched Sept. 20, 2010.

I was new to town. I wondered how this would all come together: Would my reporters turn in their stories? Would Patch resonate with the community? Would there even be anything to write about in Encino?

It all came together, and then some.

On Tuesday, Encino Patch will celebrate its one-year anniversary. During the past year, we’ve published more than 1,550 articles, more than 815 event listings and more than 3,300 business listings. And thanks to you, we’ve heard more than 1,770 comments and shared 130 user-generated announcements.

I've gone from having to explain what Patch is at every turn to seeing a spark of recognition in people's eyes when I introduce myself as the Encino Patch editor.

Like every first job should be, this has been a formative experience.

Today, however, is my last day as the editor of Encino Patch. I am leaving to take a position with the Huffington Post as the Associate Editor of the new Huff/Post 50 page, which will launch the first week of October. Huff/Post 50 will be a site for the baby boomer generation covering news, personal finance, sex, health, technology, travel and more.

But before I leave Encino, I want to say thank you.

Thank you for welcoming me into your homes, schools, houses of worship, community groups and businesses. Thank you for sharing your stories with me. Thank you for reading Encino Patch. Thank you for your feedback. Above all, thank you for making Encino my home away from home.

My goal has been to bring the local news to Encino and to give you a platform to comment, voice your concerns and become an engaged community. I challenged you to help me focus on the news that was important to you, and you responded tenfold. And for that, I am grateful.

I want to thank all of the contributors to Encino Patch—a strong team of bloggers, reporters and columnists. Thank you all for your hard work and dedication to covering Encino, and helping to make this site what it is today.

As Encino Patch enters its second year, it will continue to bring quality, informative news to the community. I will be helping my very capable Associate Editor, Anna King, take over the site next week. She can be reached at anna.king@patch.com.

As I head to the Huffington Post, I will fondly remember my time here in Encino. I look forward to keeping in touch with many of you whom I’ve come to know and consider friends.

Thank you, Encino, for taking me on this incredible journey.