Thanks For An Amazing 2014, Wesley Chapel!

By Gary Nager

As you regular readers know, 2014 has been an amazing year for us. In addition to being named the “Small Business of the Year” for 2014 by the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC), the Neighborhood News also is a finalist for the BrightHouse Regional Business Awards “Small Business of the Year.” 

We won’t find out until at least later this month if we made the final three in our category, which would mean that we would win a cash prize, and we won’t find out until February what award we won if we did make the final three.

But, win or lose, 2014 has been the single best year we have had in terms of total ad revenues and total number of pages, beating out our previous record year — 2013 — by about 15 percent, despite the fact (we hear) the economy still isn’t up to snuff and despite the seemingly-ever-growing number of “competing” publications all trying to sell ads to the same businesses we do. Somehow, thankfully, many of the record number of businesses who decided to advertise with us this year recognized the  difference between us and everyone else — that it’s not just about the look of the publication, it’s about the quality of the coverage we provide vs. any other print or online news source.

The year that is quickly drawing to a close also saw us move into our much nicer new office here on S.R. 54 in Wesley Chapel, expand our online news reporting (assistant editor Matt Wiley provides a variety of outstanding daily news updates, so if you’re not visiting WCNeighborhoodNews.com or Facebook.com/NeighborhoodNews every day, you’re just not keeping up with the latest and the greatest) and even the first-ever “tweets” by yours truly.

During 2014, we also provided more updates about and photos of more Wesley Chapel Rotary Club and WCCC events than ever before, sponsored the first-ever Wesley Chapel Jazz Festival and created as much goodwill throughout the communities of New Tampa and Wesley Chapel than we ever had before.

And, we plan to do even more in 2015. As announced last issue, we will roll out a new dining product to help Tampa Bay-area restaurants and also plan to launch an online New Tampa & Wesley Chapel “webcast” on our website before the end of 2015. We’re even working with our graphic art team on some minor design improvements for both of our all-glossy, all-direct-mail publications.

Last Chance To Shop Local!

We actually moved our deadline for this Wesley Chapel issue up by one week, in order to give our local retail advertisers as much time as possible before Christmas to draw our readers into their respective establishments. So, when you receive this issue in your mailbox (either on Friday, December 12, or on Saturday, December 13), we hope you’ll still have some holiday shopping left to do and will strongly consider visiting some or all of the following retail advertisers:

•American Wood Flooring

•Bay Breeze Car Wash

•B Creative Paint Studio

•Best Smoke Shop & Hookah Lounge

•Bliss Facial Spa

•Budget Blinds

•Cabinet & Stone Int’l. 

•Cell Phone & Computer

•Dan’s Fan City

•Edible Arrangements

•Essentials Spa

•Family Nails & Spa

•Grandeur Salon

•Grey Wolf Armory

•Kona Swim Bike & Run

•la Pink Boutique

•Leiva’s Jewelry

•New Tampa Pet Resort

•Pure Barre New Tampa

•PureHealthStudios.com

•Signarama New Tampa

•Spa Moritz

•T’s Boutique

•The Shops at Wiregrass Mall

•Vapor Unlimited E-Cigs

•Whole Foods Market Carrollwood

Of course, we also want you to visit all of our medical & eye doctors, dentists, chiropractors, restaurants, home builders, lawyers, churches, schools and dry cleaners who advertise with us, too. Happy Holidays!