On the move but staying in touch

My staff and I have been boxing up files, cleaning out desks and taking down awards and photos from the walls as we prepare for the move from our office at 135 E. Main St. in Manchester to our western region headquarters at the Saline Reporter in Saline.
As my girlfriend, mother, and sports writer spent the better half of last week boxing up the office, I couldn’t help but look through some of the old newspapers that were printed before my tenure in Manchester. This small town has certainly seen its fair share of news. From tragedies and scandals to celebrations, festivals and fairs, all of the Manchester community’s history has been recorded in the pages of the Enterprise for generations.
For me, one of the boxes of newspapers was and remains poignant. It contained the first several months issues of May 2007 when I took over as editor. I remember my first few months on the job were a learning experience. In fact, my first call to Jeff Wallace was to ask if he could put me in touch with Manchester’s Economic Development Corporation. His response was kind yet right to the point: “You aren’t from Michigan are you?”
The packing brought up many good and bad memories, a flood of emotion and a little bit of sadness.
But today I remembered those memories will not end.
Though Ed and I continue to educate ourselves about the ins and outs of Manchester two years later, I think our pictures can now go up on the hall of fame of former Enterprise staff members.
I will still work with Village President Pat Vailliencourt and her staff and many other city and school officials in Manchester, along with officials in Bridgewater, Freedom, Manchester and Sharon townships.
Infact, Mrs. Vailliencourt has graciously allowed the Enterprise to leave a drop box at the Coffee Mill Café on Main Street to allow local residents to continue to drop off photos and press releases for publication in the Enterprise. I or a staff member will retrieve the items on Monday mornings. This box is primarily for those who do not use e-mail. For those who have e-mail, electronic .jpeg photos and electronic press releases are still the preferred method of submissions.
This drop box will be in place in the coming weeks and I will include a notice in the Enterprise informing readers when they can begin leaving items at the Coffee Mill for pick-up.
All photos and press releases can still be sent to editor@manchesterenterprise.com. Similarly, all sports information can still be e-mailed to epatino@heritage.com. Readers can still reach us at our Manchester phone number, 428-8173. Mail can also be sent to The Manchester Enterprise, 135 E. Main St., Manchester MI. All mail will be forwarded to our office in Saline.
The Manchester Enterprise, with its news staff intact, will be in Manchester as often as we have in the past to cover the news and put out the best newspaper despite these recent changes. We are working around the clock to make this transition an easy one for everyone and are open to suggestions.
Changes to the newspaper profession are being reflected right across the American newspaper industry as well as other media — radio, TV, Internet, etc.
Consolidations, closings, reductions staffing are the norm.
When the future of GM, Ford and Chrysler are in question, people have to understand what is happening to the rest of American business.
But Manchester is not losing its local newspaper.
Most readers will not notice any change.
If the Manchester area can survive the purchase of the Enterprise by Heritage Newspapers, it can survive the move of the Enterprise office 13 miles east to Saline.
Editor Daniel Lai can be reached at 428-8173 or e-mail dlai@heritage.com.