Ann Cornell, Patch Staff

<b>Email: </b>ann.cornell&#64;patch.com<b><br>Phone: </b>610-213-5820<b><br>Hometown: </b>Skippack<b>, </b>PA<b><br>Birthday: </b>Nov. 3

When she was growing up, reading fueled Ann&#39;s creative juices, and she channeled them into writing. She always enjoyed crafting short stories and character studies and--in accordance with the laws of teen behavior--a fair bit of melodramatic poetry.

She wasn&#39;t bitten by the journalism bug until she reached college and took an introductory class out of curiosity. After graduating from Temple in 2005 with a B.A. in journalism, Ann joined the staff of The Times Herald in Norristown as a copy editor. She had worked her way up to news editor when she received the opportunity to join the Patch family.

Ann is looking forward to interacting with the residents of the Perkiomen Valley area and utilizing their input to further build a comprehensive, wonderful news resource.

In her downtime, she enjoys being with her family and friends and drinking massive amounts of caffeine while working through a stack of books and magazines at area bookstores.

<b>Your Beliefs</b><br>At Patch, we promise always to report the facts as objectively as possible and otherwise adhere to the principles of good journalism. However, we also acknowledge that true impartiality is impossible because human beings have beliefs. So in the spirit of simple honesty, our policy is to encourage our editors to reveal their beliefs to the extent they feel comfortable.

This disclosure is not a license for them to inject their beliefs into stories or to dictate coverage according to them. In fact, the intent is the opposite: we hope that the knowledge that their beliefs are on the record will cause them to be ever mindful to write, report and edit in a fair, balanced way. And if you ever see evidence that we failed in this mission, please let us know.

<b>Politics </b><br>How would you describe your political beliefs?<br>Are you registered with a certain party?

I&#39;m a bit left of center on many issues, and right of center on the remaining issues. I&#39;ve been a registered Republican and Democrat, but I&#39;m not currently affiliated with any party. I&#39;m proud to have conservative and liberal friends, and I appreciate healthy, civil debates.

<b>Religion</b><br>How religious would you consider yourself? (casual, observant, devout, non religious)

I was baptized and raised Catholic. I still regularly attend Mass, pray and seek out Lenten challenges.

<b>Local Hot-Button Issues</b><br>What do you think are the most important issues facing the community?<br>The Perkiomen Valley area has six different townships/boroughs, so some issues will vary. However, I know transparent, fiscally responsible government is important to residents, as is a good school system and safe neighborhoods.