Thanks for great 20-year venture

It’s been a quick 20 years for us at the Custer County Chronicle and Hill City Prevailer News. Where did the time go since we first rolled into town pulling a U-Haul trailer behind our Suburban Dec. 10, 1999? We officially purchased the Chronicle and the neighboring Hill City Prevailer News a few days later on Dec. 28, 1999. The previous publishers had owned the newspapers for 10 years, and that is the length of time we planned to own them before selling and retiring in 10 years. 
As the saying goes, the best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray and, lo and behold, we are still here slaving away. Well, not quite. We have, and have had, many great employees over those 20 years who have all contributed to our success. We especially appreciate the employees who are with us now and work tirelessly to present the news and views, as well as advertising messages, to you each week of the year.
We could not have done it without the great support of our business communities over the years. It has been a real pleasure watching new businesses start up and others expand theirs in this area. We, too, have expanded our reach into the entire Black Hills area and beyond with the start-up magazine Down Country Roads in December 2012. The every-other-month publication with its regular fashion shoot and restaurant features, as well as “people stories” has proven to be a real hit with its readers.
Another past innovation success we had was coming up with the idea of the first Southern Black Hills Vacation Guide in 2009 which brought our Southern Hills chambers of commerce together in a cooperative local print marketing effort for the first time. In some respects, it was like herding cats to get everyone on the same sheet of music, but we managed to do it for 10 years.
Our most recent magazine production highlighted the 100th anniversary of Custer State Park last year. The historic publication, produced in cooperation with the park, focused on the most significant events that resulted in the great 71,000-acre natural wildlife playground we all enjoy  today. It is often referred to as the “Crown Jewel” of the state’s impressive park system.
Plans are to publish a Black Hills Adventure magazine next summer which will highlight all the fun, recreational opportunities there are in this area. Should be informative.
So, thanks for the memories these past 20 years. It has been interesting to watch all the changes and progress being made during this time in Custer and Hill City, as well as Keystone. Look for more of these changes in our annual Progress Edition next April.
The best to you and yours during the holidays!

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