Can we believe spring is here and summer only a few short months away?

The gorgeous weather we’ve had of late certainly tells the tale. Look, really look around as you drive through town and country and don’t be surprised if a lump comes up in your throat.

This is a beautiful time of year in our little corner of the world. The brilliant scarlet of a bed of tulips wafting in the balmy breeze; hot pink azaleas blazing at roadside, the freshly minted green of new grass and the azure blue of a clear sky, all combine for a downright heady experience some days. Do I feel a touch of spring fever at hand? I believe I do!

As spring continues, the calendar just gets busier for all of us. School plays and musicals, proms, sports competitions, honors assemblies, civic meetings, grand openings, weddings, anniversaries – the list goes on and on. We at The Greenville Advocate are out there trying to &uot;tell the tale&uot; of our community and county as we promote and cover these special events in schools, churches, businesses and our lives.

It’s a challenge, without a doubt. We may be a small, rural county but, folks, there are a lot of good things happening out there. We need your help to do our job well.

Let us know about upcoming events with as much advance notice as you can. Our staff is small in size and at times we are thinly spread, but we do make an effort to get there when we can.

We appreciate your clear, sharp submitted photos and accompanying information to cover those events we cannot make it to ourselves.

Our goal is to have as little of what we term as &uot;canned copy&uot; and as much material straight from our staff writers and community columnists and supporters as possible.

I guess you could say my goal as primary Lifestyles writer at the paper is to celebrate community – our students, our churches and civic organizations, the many worthy volunteer causes and our &uot;homegrown&uot; businesses. It is a job that is challenging – and impossible, in fact, to always make everyone happy – but I’m in there swinging! And I appreciate and value your help.

Just a reminder to everyone our deadlines HAVE changed. Each Wednesday’s B-section (Lifestyles) now goes to press the previous Friday instead of on Mondays. That means wedding and engagement announcements, our Butler Bulletins and other Lifestyles-oriented materials MUST be the office no later than noon on Friday in order to make it into the following week’s Wednesday paper. (Items for Saturday’s smaller Lifestyles section should be turned in no later than Thursday at noon).

And check out our new addition: we are expanding our &uot;Good Morning&uot; front page feature and playing &uot;Five Questions&uot; with folks from throughout the community. It’s just another way to get to know the good people of this city and county a little better.

And finally, a big &uot;thank you&uot; to the students of W.O. Parmer and Greenville High and their parents who were all such good (and patient!) sports during last Thursday’s shoot for our school uniform feature.

As I said, we can’t do it without YOU.

Keep in touch!

Angie Long is the lifestyles reporter for the Greenville Advocate and can be reached at 383-9302, ext. 132 or via email at angie.long@greenvilleadvocate.com.