I’ve said it before and will do so again – the “V” in Jacksonville stands for “volunteer!”
As you flip the pages of this issue, take notice of the number of events happening – from the annual Woodlands Hike-A-Thon, a special Easter Sunday Egg Roll on the Beekman House lawn, several art exhibits, Movie Night at Old City Hall, collection day for the Medford Food Project, The Britt Bash, the Garden Club Sale, Sanctuary One’s Bachelor Auction, and so many more! The Review thanks everyone involved – none of these  events would be possible without volunteers selflessly donating their time, energy and money to improve our quality of life and make this a more interesting and enjoyable place to live.

In his column this month, Mayor Becker has personally recognized and thanked another set of citizen-volunteers – the dozens serving to make our city government function. Don’t miss “A Few Minutes with the Mayor” on page 5.
Another group of volunteers making Jacksonville a great place to live is our passionate writers and contributors here at the Review. Did you know that in any given month, forty to fifty of our neighbors, business professionals, merchants, elected officials, and others take time from their busy lives and careers to write articles and produce content for this publication? Without them, this publication would not exist. End of story! Because of their effort, the Review presents a more interesting and accurate picture of Jacksonville life than would be reflected by paid journalists.  It bears repeating here: when deciding where to spend your money, please think of our local merchants and professionals first and keep your dollars here in Jacksonville whenever possible.

I’m pleased to announce that our website (www.thejacksonvillereview.com) is up and running smoothly. The site is being managed by my wife, Jo, who just retired from her sales management job in Medford. (I think she really missed being in Jacksonville all day!) The site now provides a place to keep you up to date on news and events between issues. After nearly three years in print, we decided to build the site. Jacksonville’s Hannah West of Hannah West Design built the site – she writes our Southern Oregon Artists Resource directory each month. Jo worked with Hannah and John Trivers of Rogue Valley Computing (he writes our “Tech Talk” column,) to produce a user-friendly place we hope you visit often. Thankfully, Jo and I took some great advice just before purchasing the Review three years ago. It was from Mark Portrait, owner of Snap Shot Marketing Group here in Jacksonville. I can still hear Mark saying, “Don’t launch a website until you’ve nailed the hard side!”  Thanks Mark! Having nailed the hard side, I’m looking forward to watching Jo mold a website that’s as terrific as the print version she recreated in 2008!

Happy Spring and thanks again to all the wonderful volunteers in Our Small Town with Big Atmosphere!