I ’ve always been a great listener.

If you catch me in a room of people mingling, I’d be the one nodding my head and asking a lot of questions.

Don’t get me wrong, people who have the gift of gab have their place too. But I think a great leader needs to listen to others’ concerns and ideas. Really listen. And be open to investigating those concerns and building on those ideas.

That’s what I hope to bring to my new position as editor of your community newspaper.

I know former editor Andy Nystrom was a great listener too. I actually sat next to him for the last seven years, first out of our companies’ Kent and Bellevue offices, and then in Kirkland. Andy left the position last month to take over the editor’s spot at our sister paper in Redmond.

He’s done some great things with our newspaper and I plan to continue to build on that.

Our new team here in the newsroom also includes assistant editor Matt Phelps, who grabbed the editorial helm last month while I was on maternity leave. I just returned to work this week and will work alongside Matt to bring you in-depth stories on the top news in Bothell and Kenmore.

Here’s where you come in.

We want to know what you enjoy about the Bothell-Kenmore Reporter. Do you like our coverage of schools, sports and city news?

We also want to know what you would like to see more coverage of or how we can improve.

In the coming weeks, Matt and I plan to meet with various city officials and community members to learn more about the Northshore area. We will be asking these questions and finding out ways to best serve our readers.

We invite you to give us a call and chat about the Bothell-Kenmore Reporter, the community, what you like, what you hate – you name it.

You can reach us by phone at: 425-822-9166, ext 5050 for me, or at 425-483-3732, ext 5050 for Matt.

Or shoot us an email with any concerns or ideas at editor@bothell-reporter.com.

We look forward to hearing from you – and listening to you.