It was exactly one year ago today that Point Pleasant Patch burst on the scene, covering news, features, sports, events and more in the Borough and Beach every day.

And the feedback has been incredible. Point Patch has grown to an average of about 25,000 readers monthly and still going strong!

Thank you to every single person who ever clicked on a headline, offered a compliment, constructive criticism, a new tip or a good story idea, as well as those who loaded photos, blogged, liked our Point Pleasant Patch Facebook page or followed us on Twitter.

Your interest, support and encouragement mean more to me than you can ever imagine. I truly feel honored to be Local Editor of a hyperlocal news web site that serves a fascinating and diverse group of residents and business people, and I hope my appreciation is evident in the work I do every day.

Because of the tremendous support of readers and users like you, Point Patch has grown to the success it is today. Like approximately 870 other Patch sites across the country, Point Patch is showing residents and business people the benefits of a news website that has fresh, local stories every day and often updates stories multiple times a day, especially when we had snow storms, hurricanes, power outages and other events that affected our whole community.

But this is just the beginning. I'm constantly re-evaluating how to do this job the best I can, with the help of my editors, colleagues and freelance writers, and I've got big dreams to grow even more!

So please feel free to e-mail me at denise.distephan@patch.com, type "Reader Request" in the subject line and let me know what you want to read, what you want more of, what you want less of and I'll do the best I can to meet those needs.

I'm keeping this short and sweet because everyone is busy during the height of the holiday season. If you haven't already done so already, please "like" our Point Pleasant Patch Facebook page at www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/PointPleasantPatch and please follow us on Twitter @PtPleasantPatch.

Thank you again to everyone and warm wishes for a healthy, happy holiday season and bright New Year!