Dear Readers,
It's that time of the year when we look back on the past 12 months and reflect on all that has happened.
It's been my first full year as editor, but I feel like I am beginning to get to know you by now and understand better the things that matter to you most.
A lot has happened. Some wonderful things - particularly Town's League One promotion campaign and our continued rise towards the Premier League which has brought such joy and optimism back to Ipswich and the county as a whole. But there have also been tougher times, businesses closing, people losing their lives in tragic circumstances, traffic chaos and the particular impact on Suffolk of Storms Babet and Ciaran.
The cost-of-living crisis has also affected all of us and we are very aware of the impact on our readers.
Many businesses have struggled under the strain and while we have a thriving business community in Suffolk, we have also seen a number of much loved and respected firms go under with energy prices and other costs becoming unsustainable and everyone cutting their cloth when it comes to shopping and going out.
Despite this, we have been so proud of the way our community has responded, whether by supporting the Suffolk Surviving Winter campaign by donating their winter fuel payment to support those in need to keep warm this Christmas or marking the King's Coronation by joining the Big Help Out. In difficult times, we have stuck together and supported each other. It's what our community is all about.
Through it all, we see it as our role to keep you informed, to ask the questions you can't ask and to push for a better and fairer Suffolk.
We continue to campaign for the WASPI women, for a resolution to our traffic problems, for fairness generally and to support our readers when the system lets them down.
We certainly do our best to keep our local politicians on the toes - though, regardless of their political party, we support them all in their efforts to do right by you.
At Christmas, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to my team who are so dedicated to consistently delivering exceptional news and sport coverage of our region every day.
Their unwavering commitment to journalistic integrity and truth and their passionate determination to amplify the voices and causes that matter most to our community makes me proud every day.
I truly believe that without journalists and newspapers like ours, who else would bring to light crucial local issues, stand up for you, and question those in power?
Thank you so much for your continued support. I hope you will stick with us. Your backing means the world to us all and we never take it for granted.
I wish you a wonderful Christmas and the very best for 2024.
Liz
Editor | Ipswich Star
PS Don't miss out on our subscriber only competition which closes on January 2 to win a £100 voucher for the ITFC club shop.
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