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As in life, there are a lot of significant anniversaries and milestones in business, from a grand opening to a silver anniversary, 50 years of service or 100 years in business.

Today at the Tyler Morning Telegraph, we are celebrating one.

And we are celebrating because of the support we have received from Tyler, East Texas and beyond.

This is the one-year anniversary of the Morning Telegraph joining M. Roberts Media, a family owned company.

Some things have not changed. For example, the staffs in each department include longtime residents who are active in Tyler and the region. The newspaper feels the pulse of the community.

But we wanted more.

We wanted to hear from you and improve on a great product. You helped us do that, and it’s one reason we are celebrating today.

A community advisory board has met monthly to give us valuable input on the delivery of the paper, the electronic edition, our newsletters and website. Story ideas and community issues that need to be addressed have come to our attention.

One of the biggest changes has been our digital direction.

On the website, more of you are reading and viewing stories that matter here at home. We brought back video and added video storytelling. From videos on children from an FFA chapter to firefighters going above and beyond, over 17,000 people were watching those videos when they launched. And we have more plans for a better digital experience for you in 2020 at tylerpaper.com and our social media sites.

The introduction of M. Roberts Digital has been another success. Businesses are relying on our agency to tell their stories, reach their customers and drive business.

We also listened to you, the readers, about our coverage.

The news section, especially the front page, has more local news, with a new focus on stories about your family, neighbors and friends.

To keep readers up to date with the news in East Texas, we returned East Texas and State pages in each edition, using the resources of four strong sister papers and other media partners in East Texas.

Of course, East Texas and Tyler are a destination for events. We added the @Play section to improve our coverage of entertainment and events here and across the region. The section not only provides a service to our readers, it is published in our sister publications to help those who present events see more attendance.

Our opinion page is changing as well. You told us you want to see more local columns, more letters to the editor and more issues being addressed. You don’t want so many editorial views from national wire services bashing one political party or the other.

And we agree. Look for more changes on this page in the coming weeks.

Let’s get back to the number one.

Just since October, we’ve seen an increase of more than 500 new subscribers to our print edition and website. Thank you.

However, the number that matters is one.

You.

Each email and phone call is answered and we enjoy the visits at the office or on the streets. Your feedback and support have made our first year a memorable one, and we don’t take a single reader for granted.

Your support this year has been our privilege.