TUESDAY OCTOBER 26, 2021 SPECIAL EDITION

By DAVID STONE, Our Town Temple publisher

Our Town Temple electronic newsmagazine has leased an office at 13 S. Main Street. It’s a very small office in a very large building — it was formerly occupied by In the Mood Ballroom.

The office gives Our Town a presence in downtown Temple and is more convenient and accessible for customers. Basically, staff will be using the building to conduct interviews, write stories and design the product.

The new office puts us in the center of booming downtown, but that doesn’t mean we will be ignoring the rest of the area. Far from it. We are now more centrally located and can reach breaking news faster than ever.

Our Town Temple welcomes visitors, but since we are constantly on the go conducting interviews and taking photographs, the office will not have set hours.

It is best to set up an appointment by emailing OurTownTemple@gmail.com.

This week, we will produce our 100th issue of Our Town Temple. Yep, we are here to stay and we have huge plans.

As most readers are aware, we are transitioning to a subscriber-based publication. Right now, the product is being sent to more than 9,000 readers. The free issues will continue every Wednesday, but starting Monday the full five-issue-per-week service requires a subscription.

The monthly rate is $5 and includes five issues every week, access to our archive site and many bonus issues. The best buy is the annual subscription, which is 12 months for $50, plus the bonus stuff. And, gift subscriptions also are $50 per year and come with a personalized message from the sender.

Subscribers also will get a free 25-word classified ad that will run every Tuesday.

Our Town Market debuts every Wednesday for businesses looking to advertise on the free distribution day. Our Town Market ads will cost $25 per issue and can include a photo, your logo and your message. This gives small businesses a great way to reach thousands of readers for a very affordable rate. The Market will start on Wednesdays but is available every issue.

Since we will be based downtown, Our Town Temple will be active in activities such as First Friday and the monthly downtown Market Day events organized by the Temple Small Business Coalition.

We will be at both events in November — First Friday on Nov. 5 and November Market on Nov. 13 — signing up readers, distributing information and passing out free train-shaped cookies. Wooo! Wooo!

Oh, we are producing about 15 stories a week about Temple and the area. Story ideas are welcome and encouraged!

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