Does anybody else here remember the World Almanac?

It’s still around, even if it’s not been quite as prominent since the rise of the World Wide Web. And it used to be the first thing I looked for under the Christmas tree – that weird and wonderful compendium of facts, flags, and fascination.

A list of famous actors and their real names? Got it. (I still love the fact that John Wayne started life as Marion Morrison.) A brief rundown of all the nations in the world? Heather and I devoured it. Quick notes of the weirdest news stories to hit the headlines? Those had us laughing long before Florida Man and the Darwin Awards came to prominence.

And always, there was the year in review – the key stories and developments from the months just gone by that had made the world a different place. Disasters. Elections. Championships. Trends. All of it condensed into a handful of pages, making you wonder how so much had gone by so quickly.

Well … I don’t have the thick volume in my hands this year. But we are at the edge of a new year. And if you’ve been a regular here, you’re aware of just how much happened for Longmont Power & Communications in 2019:

• This was the year of NextLight’s fifth anniversary, a year in which our favorite fiber-optic internet service also won a Cornerstone Award as well as hitting the 20,000 customer mark. (Psst! If you’re thinking about becoming a new NextLight customer, you can still get the ­$55 anniversary deal as long as you sign up by the end of the day on New Year’s Eve.)
• This was the year that our electric service got recognized as a Smart Energy Provider by the American Public Power Association.
• It’s the year that we first began to offer Sharing the NextLight so that low-income families with schoolchildren could get connected.
• It’s the year that we upgraded our electric vehicle charging stations to handle two cars at once.
• And of course, it’s a year that we brought two new directors on board to lead our utilities.

 A lot has happened. A lot will happen (and I’ll keep telling you about it right here). But one thing that will stay the same is our focus on you. We are still Longmont’s own electric and internet service, built to serve the needs of our community.

And you can put that in the book.