Thank You, Manchester Patch Readers, For Helping Us Grow

MANCHESTER, NJ — Hello, Manchester Patch readers! We're coming up on our eighth anniversary, and we wanted to take a moment to thank you for taking time in your busy days to spend a few moments with Patch. We appreciate your visits and contributions, and we want you to know we take nothing for granted here. Thank you for helping us to grow and thrive.

Manchester Patch launched on Nov. 22, 2010, and we've come a long way since then; you're a big reason why.

In August, Manchester Patch recorded 206,726 visitors. For a town of nearly 44,000 people, that's a lot of readers! We know many of you are right here, reading us in Whiting or Pine Lake Park or over in the Ridgeway section. We know some of you are peeking in at your hometown from afar. We also know some of our Manchester Patch readers are from neighboring towns as well (especially those of you in Lakehurst — we know you're out there too). That figure — compiled and verified through Google Analytics — includes readers on desktop, laptop, tablet, mobile and our app, and our visitors often access Patch on several devices over the month.

Here are 10 of the most-read articles on Manchester Patch in the last month.

• Video: Alleged Impaired Driver Hits SUV At Manchester Police Stop
• Manchester PD Video Urges Drivers To Move Over
• Venomous Snake Found Under Car At Manchester Home (Video)
• Defense Funding Adds Refueling Tankers To Joint Base In Lakehurst
• Mold Forces Lakehurst Students To Start Year In Other Places
• Manchester Names New High School Vice Principal
• Manchester Student Creates Sensory Garden At High School
• Squirrel In Transformer Disrupts 1st Day Of School In Manchester
• STEAM Labs, Scholarships: Manchester Golf Outing Funds Education
• 2 Men Hospitalized After Motorcycles Collide In Manchester: PD

Got a news tip? I'm Karen Wall, your local editor. I've lived in Ocean County for nearly 40 years (long enough to remember when Route 37 west was mostly woods after you passed Mule Road) and I'm proud to cover this community, from police news to events such as the annual tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I welcome your tips, your ideas and questions; email me at karen.wall@patch.com.

Our readers also love Manchester Patch's calendar of events, which draws hundreds of visits. If you would like to post on Manchester Patch, too, you may easily to sign up for a free user profile. As a Patch user, you can post articles, events, jobs, and announcements. And the "rules of Patch" are easy to follow: "no abusive content, no commercial spam, and keep it local."

You've probably seen our calls to join the Patch Mayor program. Well would love to have you join the program and tell your neighbors some of the things you love about Manchester. If you're interested, you can read more about it by clicking here.

Here's a few other facts about Manchester Patch. So far this year, 1,268 new email subscribers have joined Manchester Patch, boosting our email list to nearly 3,000 daily subscribers. (If you're not receving our emails and would like to, click here and we'll get you connected.) And 500 people joined our Facebook page this year, too. We're closing in on 7,000 fans! If you haven't liked our page yet, please give it a try. If you're already on the page, please share with a friend. Reaching 7,000 fans by the end of October would be a huge milestone for us.

If you own a local business and are interested in getting your message on Manchester Patch or our nearby Patches, please visit the page and tell us what you need. One of our sales reps will be in touch.

Here's another fun fact about Patch: Did you know that Patch is among the 100 most trafficked websites in the United States? Patch ranks 91st on the most viewed websites in the country, according to Alexa. Manchester Patch is part of a broad network, with 100 Patches in New Jersey and more than 1,200 across the United States. That's a lot of local news! Many news websites are limiting access to free articles, but Patch articles and events by our journalists and our users are always free to view.

We're thrilled you've made Manchester Patch a part of your life. Thank you so much for your support and readership.

Try The Patch App

We've taken the best of Patch and packed it into a lightning fast, super-clean app that is loaded with features users have told us they want. If you haven't tried the app, give it a try. You can get the latest local news sent straight to your iPhone or iPad home screen on the free Patch app for iOS or the Android app.

Harry Wright Lake, photo by Manchester Township