With the publication of this issue, we mark a quarter century of connecting Farmington Valley businesses and residents through The Valley Book. Indeed, encouraging those who live in The Farmington Valley to patronize local businesses is the most important part of what The Valley Book does, especially since on-line purchasing and big box stores have made it increasingly difficult for local companies to not only compete but thrive.

Toward that end, we offer local businesses new ways of customizing their advertising packages, adding even greater value to their presence on our pages. These include:

• Beautiful full-page Department Leader photos of advertisers, taken by our incredibly talented photographers and positioned directly opposite their full page ads which are designed by our exceptional graphic artist;

• Professionally written and designed articles profiling local advertisers and including photos of their locations and products, as well as their owners and employees.

All of these options provide local businesses with a unique message tailored by our talented staff to connect them with local residents and presented in the highest quality format by direct mail and carefully targeted additional circulation. Anyone interested in talking about these options can contact Steve Walsh on his cell phone at 860-670-6575 or steve@webbooksct.com.

I would also like to reintroduce my son Dan, pictured with me above, to the Farmington Valley community. Dan has completed his third sales season for The Valley Book, which is now a real family business. He has made an incredible contribution as Marketing Director and by all accounts has represented Distinctive Directories with the highest level of professionalism and personal connection. We are excited and grateful to have the valuable addition of his youthful energy, talent, and enthusiasm.

So please use your latest edition of The Valley Book as a resource to commit a larger percentage of your purchasing power to the wide variety of local businesses presented in our 17 departments. You will increase the quality and usefulness of the products and services that you buy while protecting the character and charm of our local community.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the incredibly talented staff and freelancers (listed on page 11) who produced this 25th Annual Edition of The Valley Book, including the writers, editors, photographers, illustrators, graphic artists, salespeople, and office staff. I am very proud of your efforts and extremely grateful for the honor of working with you.