You likely noticed changes to the front page of your Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business this month. 

We wanted to usher in the new year with a new look and feel as we celebrate the start of our publication’s 20th year. In addition to a modernized logo, we made some stylistic changes to the cover page. Our graphic designer Vanessa Guzmán calls the rebrand bright and sophisticated. We think the new design gives the paper a modern and clean look – and the timing could not be better.

Through all the uncertainty of 2020, our small but mighty team has worked hard to provide consistency, reporting on the business-focused news you’ve come to expect from us for the past two decades. We aren’t trying to sensationalize our community’s news with click-bait headlines or stories. We are a small, locally owned business like many of yours. Our goal is to continue to provide fair, accurate and in-depth coverage of the Tri-City business community.

Our first 32-page newspaper rolled off the press in January 2002. It included stories about the strength of the Tri-City economy, the Tri-Cities Airport adding more flights, expansion plans at Kadlec Medical Center and Kennewick General Hospital, the Spudnut Shop’s new storefront and the $4.7 million sale of 51 acres near the Richland Walmart to a California development company that would become the future home of Target.

Founder/CEO Melanie Hair’s column in the inaugural issue introduced the new paper to the Tri-Cities by outlining its mission: 100% local business news (focused on our community), 100% circulation (the paper is direct-mailed to businesses for free) and 100% effort (we’ll do our best every month to serve our readers).

Our vision is unwavering 20 years later.

We’ve grown in the last two decades. In 2013 we bought the rights to the monthly Senior Times, established in 1982 in the Yakima Valley, because we knew Benton and Franklin senior citizens would be well served to have a publication focused on them. 

In fall 2017, we launched our glossy, full-color magazine, Focus: Construction + Real Estate in the Tri-Cities, and in spring 2018 added a companion publication, Focus: Agriculture + Viticulture in the Columbia Basin.

In addition to our printed products, we strive to keep to our website timely at www.tcjournal.biz where we average thousands of page views per day. You can also sign up for our e-newsletters there, and find us on our social media channels: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

We always welcome your comments, feedback and story ideas. Feel free to write us at 8524 W. Gage Blvd., #A1-300, Kennewick, WA 99336, email us at [email protected], or call 509-737-8778. Be sure to leave or send a message as our physical office remains closed to the public. 

We are thankful you continue to read the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business and support our advertisers by doing business with their companies. We wish you good health and positive outcomes in the coming year. We are happy to accompany you on the journey.