To the editor:

I wanted to take this opportunity to talk about people who you, as readers, rarely see or even come in contact with. But they are every bit as important to the production of this newspaper as anyone.

Those are your newspaper delivery people.

Often, they are a blur in the night. Delivering your paper while you sleep. Delivering in all kinds of weather and the occasional deer crossing the road.

While I might be biased, I feel we have some of the best carriers in the Northwest. I came to this position four months ago not knowing much about the circulation world. My own resume consisted of years as a Navy journalist and a number of years working in civilian security management. To top that off, I had only been living on the island for six months. So, I had a lot to learn about the process of delivering our product. What made it less stressful was the abilities of the carriers that were here.

Of course, I had to hire some new carriers for certain routes and we had to make significant changes to other routes. But for the most part, the carriers have stuck it out and persevered. In fact, the only time the carriers (or I) get any feedback from the public is when their papers are not delivered.

That is why I wanted to talk about some of the fine carriers we have here on the island. There is Will and Christine on the South End. They deliver to more than 700 homes a night, taking him almost eight hours at a time and hardly ever a complaint. There are James and Ashlee, who drive from their home in Oak Harbor, to deliver to residents in Langley. There is Elaine, a carrier who services part of Coupeville and Greenbank. She just came aboard two months ago but on her own initiative restructured her route and saved this company hundreds of dollars. There’s the young man in Oak Harbor named Noah, age 13, who along with his parents, gets up in the middle of the night to make sure that his area residents get their paper with their morning coffee. These are just a fraction of the people who deliver for our papers on the island. I wanted to thank the rest of them by name: Whidbey News-Times: Alia, Paula, Sonia, Thomas, Chris, Robert, Cierra, Christine, Jason, Justin, Christa, Rosie, Tina, Jayne, Jon and Belinda; South Whidbey Record: Don and Brian; and of course, Cheryl, who delivers The Whidbey Examiner.

The next time you get a chance and you see your carrier, give them a smile and a thanks. They deserve it.

Gregg Travers

Circulation Manager

Whidbey News Group