Happy One-Year Anniversary, Royal Oak Patch!

One mission. One year.

When Royal Oak Patch launched Nov. 15, 2010, there was one goal in mind: To make a difference in the community.

As a 25-year resident of Royal Oak, I look forward to getting out every day (on my bike when the weather is nice) and covering the people and stories that matter to our community. As I always tell my friends, "I have the best job in the world because every day I get to write about the most exciting thing that happened in Royal Oak."

And we all know there is plenty of excitement around here. It never ends.

We've covered the Woodward Dream Cruise, , , and the recent C. The , , and our bustling dowtown are some of my favorite places to bring my camera.

I was lucky enough to capture when  after their football team won for the first time in three years. And I was at Michigan International Speedway a couple of weeks ago to see run 16:00 flat to capture an all-state medal in the state cross country meet.

We've covered the death of ,  and a "living memorial" for the in 1991.

Of course, what kind of Royal Oak editor would I be if I didn't write a few stories about?

Here are just some of the stories, in no particular order, that I am proud to have covered.

Do you have a favorite Patch story or moment? Is there something we did that you really liked – or even disliked? Do you have an idea for a story?

As always, you can email me at  judy.davids@patch.com, call 248-231-4667 or comment below.

You can also "like" us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. And don't forget to sign up for our daily and/or weekly email newsletter, too.

Thank you Royal Oak Patch readers. Stay with us. With your help, we want to continue providing valuable and relevant information to the community.

All my best,

Judy Davids, Royal Oak Patch Editor