Even in a place as radiant as the San Juans, the monotony of routine can get to the best of us.

Sometimes it takes genuine interest from a fellow community to remind us: wow, we really do have it great here.

We recently spoke to the Orcas Kiwanis Club about running a small-town newspaper. We were asked: Why do you like it? Why isn’t the paper bigger?

In answering the first question, it reaffirmed why we love running a community newspaper. We were reminded of why we chose this career and why it makes our hearts soar. Our job is about sharing stories. We are grateful to have such incredible citizens grace the pages of our newspaper.

We are the community’s sounding board, a means of expression for all facets of the public. We aim to inform, amuse and ignite our readers. We strive to facilitate growth in island businesses.

Our greatest joy is to help someone in need through exposure in print. Our greatest struggle is towing the line between reporting difficult news and remaining sensitive to those we call neighbors.

And why isn’t the paper bigger? Well, that lies entirely with you. The size of our paper is driven by revenue. It’s no secret that newspapers – even beloved community papers – have downsized in recent years. We aren’t going anywhere, but in order to survive, we have added new special sections, online offerings and readjusted our print model. And sometimes that means running leaner, tighter papers. But more ad revenue equals more room for news stories. The bigger the paper, the more readers we acquire. More readers means more eyeballs on ads for your business. It really is all interconnected.

We truly could not do this job without you.

So send us your letters to the editor. Send us your story ideas. Read us online. Buy a subscription. Take out an ad.

We take our role in the community very seriously. We live and breathe our work, and for those who have the journalism bug, it’s a passion that’s hard to shake. Thanks for letting us tell your stories.