Happy Anniversary to Us!

With this issue, PRIME celebrates 13 continuous years of bringing timely news, interesting events and useful information to the over-40 readers in the Pioneer Valley. And what a baker's dozen of years it's been! From humble beginnings as an outgrowth of the senior pages of our parent publication, The Reminder of East Longmeadow (which, by the way, will be celebrating 43 years of publication itself this year!), our original publication, Prime Times, has reinvented itself over the years in an effort to continue to serve the needs of our readers. When I joined Reminder Publications as the editor of the now-defunct Connecticut edition of Prime Times 10 years ago, the emphasis of the publication was on news and events that would appeal to readers who were active in their local senior centers. As evidenced by my feature story on the 65-year-old former Holyoke resident who spent two years in Suriname serving with the Peace Corps, the definition of retirement activities has changed since Prime Times debuted in the Valley. As we've learned from reader responses to our recent surveys, today's PRIME readers are more physically active, more tech savvy, more involved in their own financial planning, their own health decisions, more well-travelled ... and with the coming of age of the Boomer generation, they are reinventing the meaning of the word "retirement." Mid-life entrepreneurship anyone? In response to this shift in perspective, Prime Times itself went through a reinvention of sorts earlier this year, becoming just PRIME and broadening our scope of articles to include information for those looking to make the most of the second half of their lives. It's been an exciting time, and we at PRIME are looking forward to binging you more years of the news you need to make the most of your PRIME time! Do you know a Hometown Hero? It's that time of year again. Our parent company, Reminder Publications, seeks the names of local men and women who go above and beyond, investing their time and energy to make their community a better place to live. If you know someone who fits this description, and you'd like to see their hard work recognized, see the nomination form on page 29 in this issue. Deadline to submit nominations is Nov. 4! Debbie Gardner PRIME Editor