Finally. We exist! Welcome to Milford Patch, our virtual meeting place for local news, ideas, useful community information and events.

As informative, helpful and rewarding as my 10 weeks in Milford leading up to this launch have been, I'd be lying if I said they weren't also frustrating. Walking around town, meeting officials, residents and business owners, a green binder full of informational handouts was all I had to prove to the community I was actually a journalist. Sure, I could crack open my laptop and show them the fine examples of Patch sites that exist throughout the state and country, but the news I showed them wasn't in Milford. The pictures on the other Patch sites weren't of Memorial Hall, the picturesque portions of the Milford Upper Charles Trail, the statue of General Draper that towers over Draper Memorial Park. Milford Patch wasn't nameless, but I was its only face.

Now that Milford Patch is live, you don't need me to tell you what it is. See for yourself that it's a source of local news, different from others in town. Browse our community directory, an unparalleled database of Milford businesses, destinations and services. Check out our user-friendly interface that allows you to post events, announcements and special occasions directly on our site. Are you having a baby? Getting married? Celebrating an anniversary? Beaming over your child's induction into the National Honor Society, or a work promotion? You can tell me about it, and I'll gladly let our readers know – or, you can simply tell them yourself with a couple of clicks.

The name "Milford," in our title couldn't be more literal. Produced by professional journalists who live in or a stone's throw away from town, Patch is a destination for news exclusive to Milford. Unless it is directly related to Milford, you won't see information about other towns in our electronic pages. We'll be at town meetings, events, and breaking news scenes every day, several times a day. We'll be posting news and information to Twitter and Facebook. Read what interests you, and don't worry about our daily "paper," piling up in your recycling bin – we're green!

We're the new guy in town, which means that we'll have to work that much harder to secure a place on your daily reading list. I realize that even months down the line, my introduction to some people as the editor of Milford Patch will still probably draw a blank stare. That's OK – because all someone will have to do is visit this site, and see what we are. We're here. We exist. And we can't wait to get started.