For a century, The Lufkin Daily News has chronicled the triumphs and tragedies of Angelina County. The newspaper began publication just a few blocks away from its current location. And, just as the physical location hasn't strayed far, we haven't lost focus of our primary mission: To cover this county to the best of our ability, and to be a force for progress.

It's a great honor to be the publisher of this newspaper during its centennial year. The newspaper has been blessed with strong leadership since its modest beginnings, and I'm humbled to follow in their footsteps. More importantly, it's great to work with such a dedicated team of people to bring you the news and advertising both in print and online every day.

The Lufkin Daily News and its parent company, Cox Newspapers, are fully committed to this community, its people and its progress. We've proven that by investing nearly $3 million in capital improvements to our production facility over the past three years. That commitment is further emphasized by our annual payroll of just under $2 million for 85 employees as well as more than 50 carriers who are independent contractors.

While our traditional print product remains the mainstay of our business, the growth of lufkindailynews.com since its launch in 2001 is truly exciting. As many as 100,000 different computers log in monthly to the site. That number, and its significance to the operation of our business, will only continue to grow.

We are committed to doing our utmost best to bringing you the news of the day, whether its in a rolled-up paper that lands in your driveway, or on our Web site with its ability to provide breaking news, video and audio. For the vast majority of Angelina County residents, we are the primary news source, and that's a franchise we intend to keep. Thank you for your support.

Gary Borders

Publisher