Dear Reader,

Today, May 2, is exactly 10 years since my colleagues and I returned The Berkshire Eagle to local ownership and with a commitment to increasing the quality of the journalism, not the bottom line.

In 2016, The Berkshire Eagle was purchased by local owners. From left, owner Bob Wilmers; former publishers Martin Langeveld and Ed Woods; and owners Hans Morris and Fredric Rutberg announce the sale at a press conference. Owner Stan Lipsey was not present.

Reaching this milestone is a reason to look back on a thrilling journey, to look forward to a rapidly changing future, and to stop and humbly appreciate the extraordinarily good fortune we've encountered.

I wrote my first president's letter the day after the purchase closed. I ended that column with the thought that while we acquired legal title to The Berkshire Eagle, ultimately the paper belongs to the community and we are just stewards of this important local institution. The past 10 years taught me how accurate that statement was. Readers continually demonstrate a strong sense of ownership of The Eagle, and I am grateful they feel that way.

At the various Coffee with the President events we hosted, I often receive a visceral feeling of your sense of ownership.

People invariably are convinced that we do not offer enough coverage of the particular area where the Coffee is being held. Years ago, a neighbor stopped me on my afternoon walk to demand that we change the name of the paper to The Pittsfield Eagle, because there was so little coverage of South County.

Berkshire Eagle President Fredric Rutberg hosts Coffee with the President events around the Berkshires to speak directly with readers.

I am fairly sure that people in Pittsfield wonder why we dedicate so much attention to North Adams and Great Barrington.

If so, this is more than just parochialism: People everywhere in Berkshire County believe The Eagle is their paper. While it pains me to disappoint any reader, I am grateful that people care so much that they react so viscerally to our shortcomings or errors.

This sense of reader ownership also becomes apparent when we report, or take editorial positions, on controversial matters.

I understand when people are genuinely upset when they think our reporting was overly favorable to a candidate or interest they oppose. I learned how difficult it is to convince someone of our objectivity when they are emotionally invested in an issue.

Fortunately, your emotional attachment to The Eagle is at least as strong as it is to the matter causing upset, so few people end up actually cancelling their subscription in a fit of pique. I am proud that our readers understand the value of preserving a vibrant local newspaper is greater than advancing a single cause.

That first president's letter also set forth a set of principles that were to guide The Eagle: "To our readers, we will report the news accurately without fear or favor. Our opinions will be reasoned and stated clearly. We will be responsive to, and cover, the entire community, subject to obvious limitations of time and resources. The news and views we publish will be lively and engaging; we will not brook sensationalism. We will deliver our product on time and at a fair price."

Looking back a decade later, we may have missed the mark occasionally, but our commitment to these principles has never wavered.

The most rewarding part leading The Eagle for the last 10 years was being a part of a mission-driven organization.

Occasionally, the mission requires all hands on deck, and I get to be an active part of the team, like being on the production line manually placing inserts in the pre-Thanksgiving issue back when that edition had too many inserts for our machinery (would that those days return even once).

More recently, Kamala Harris came to Pittsfield for her first campaign event as the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate.

Walking to The Colonial Theater, the air was filled with expectation and excitement. Seeing Eagle reporters and photographers everywhere, I felt so proud to be a part of the crew that would report on and preserve a historic event.

Entering the theater, I purposely took a seat on the last row so that I could stand during the event and send real-time cellphone photos back to The Eagle office, despite the limitation placed on the professional photographers by the campaign.

Being a part of the team working the event, not just the boss, was exhilarating and unforgettable.