It really isn’t as easy as you might think.

Just the other day, I was asked if I had a relaxing holiday weekend. And, while I did have a nice time with family and friends, the newspaper still had to come out.

And, thanks to a dedicated group of folks and carriers, the newspapers came out and will continue to come out.

But, it really isn’t as easy as you might think.

For 365 days each year — it’ll actually be 366 next year — we are given the task, rather the opportunity, to produce Vicksburg’s newspaper. But, it really isn’t as easy as you might think.

Regardless if it is raining, sleeting, snowing, blazing sun or raining frogs the newspaper has to get out. But, it’s not as easy as you might think.

While there are some standing features and pieces of information you might find in nearly every edition of The Vicksburg Post, nearly every single bit of information, every word and every photograph have to be created from scratch, and one of the hardest parts of the job might be thought of as the easiest; coming up with the stories.

Every edition requires at a minimum five to six news stories, three to four sports stories, an editorial, columns and a community calendar. Throughout an average year — which I have learned there is never anything average about this job — an editorial staff must come up with more than 3,300 news and sports stories.

That’s where you come in. That’s where the word “community” in community newspaper is so crucial, so important.

Despite what we might believe, we do not know it all. We are not omniscient.

We depend on the support and contributions from our readers, our neighbors, our friends to let us know what is going on in the community. While we might already know about something, getting a friendly heads up or reminder is always appreciated.

I have often written about the deep honor it is to work at a newspaper, to be a part of a community and to serve that community. And while it is an honor to see the newspaper come out each afternoon, the honor lies with not only serving the community, but serving with those who work in every area of our operation to get the newspaper out each and every day; to watch those more than 3,300 stories come together, those pages printed and delivered.

While the job is not as easy as you might think, the calling to do the job is a calling that is easy to answer. I speak for our entire staff in that we truly enjoy hearing from you, our readers, whether it is to offer a suggestion, share a complaint or to give us a lead on a story.

As I have said before, this is your newspaper, Vicksburg’s newspaper, and for it to continue to serve its mission, it depends on that input.

I look forward to hearing from you.