Editor's Notebook: Patch Celebrates its 100th Site Launch

Patch was founded in New York City in 2008 and launched soon after with three sites covering areas of New Jersey. Eighteen months and 55,000 articles later, Patch reached 100 sites Tuesday with the birth of a site in Morristown, N.J.

Since 2009 Patch has expanded to nine states ranging from New England to California. AOL, which bought the company in June of 2009, has since invested $50 million to further our mission of bringing quality local journalism to the web.

It has been a wonderful experience watching as Patch has grown so quickly over the past few years. Although we are still relatively new, I hope that Harrison Patch has already made a connection with this community and everyone interested in it.

Since our launch in December 2009, Harrison Patch has covered stories ranging from sports and light-hearted features to tragedy and heartbreak. We have quickly realized that there are a lot of different types of stories that this community has to offer. I sincerely hope that readers have enjoyed our coverage as much as we have enjoyed reporting it.

Looking back, there are several stories that we specifically have enjoyed covering. Although these might not be the most ground-breaking stories, I feel they highlight a few of the many things this community does best:

• Harrison School Superintendent Louis Wool took home a major award this December when he was named New York State superintendent of the year. Wool has been with the district since 2002 and has been a key influence on improved Regents diploma rates and Advanced Placement participation.
• Roy Aletti lit up the winter sky with his annual Christmas light display again this holiday season and Patch was around just in time to see it. The display includes a full-size set of reindeers and a sleigh, among many other things. Much like the rest of the community, we enjoyed the display this year and look forward to checking it out again this December.
• This spring's powerful thunderstorm left hundreds of Harrison residents without power, making the storm itself far from a bright spot in Harrison news. But there were positives, as the community shared a laugh as readers shared their stories about life without electricity.
• There were far too many sports accomplishments since the birth of Harrison Patch to mention each of them here, but one stands out looking back. After an average regular season the Harrison baseball team got hot at the right time and advanced all the way to the Section I championship game. Although the Huskies lost the game to Lakeland, they showed a lot about the kind of heart and determination young athletes around here are capable of.
• Finally the Harrison Summer Concert Series, which wraps up next week has brought a smile to the faces of almost all who have attended. Although it may be the case every year, we were shocked at how many people take the time to enjoy beautiful evenings at Riis Park or the West Harrison Green to enjoy live music. 

While Patch continues to grow on a national level, we look forward to also improving every day here in Harrison. We are dedicated to bringing you everything you want to know about Harrison and look forward to finding out all there is to know about this wonderful community.