It may be hard to believe, but the Claremont COURIER staff took an afternoon off to celebrate the holidays with a festive lunch and gift giving. This year we went Italian by going to Il Mattone, a wonderful family-owned restaurant in the heart of the Village on Indian Hill Boulevard. This year was a good one for the COURIER, with increases in advertising and circulation over previous years. We also more than doubled our social media friends, helped in part by Rachel Fagg, our classified manager extraordinaire, who really raised the bar for us. We have also noticed greater appreciation from our reader base because of our commitment to fact-based journalism, published with no bias or agenda. Our goal is to support Claremont in any way possible, by bringing more transparency to how the city does business. I can say first-hand this group is passionate about what they do for our readers, which is just one reason the COURIER is successful. And that includes the newspaper too! So from all of us, thank you so much for your continued support. We promise to continue publishing one of the best community newspapers in the country. Have a good holiday and remember, 2018 is right around the corner! -PW