The old saying is that “time flies when you are having fun.” I couldn’t agree more.

People also say the same thing about getting older, but the former is far less depressing so I am sticking with it.

It certainly has been fun here in Winchester working at The Sun.

The calendar has zipped by over the past 12 months.

In many ways, I can’t believe it has been a year, often seeming more like just a few months.

In other ways, it seems like twice that long.

Reflecting on my time here, this is exactly where my family and I are meant to be.

We love the great state of Kentucky and it has always been where we felt the most comfortable, even though we have lived in a couple of other states.

We may have grown up an hour and half east on Interstate 64, but Winchester feels like home.

The community has been great, welcoming my family and I with open arms. In just a short time I have met so many great people who care so much about Clark County.

We definitely feel this is a special place. As an “Olympic-caliber optimist” (to quote fellow newspaper contributor Erin Smith), I truly feel this community is poised for growth and has a very bright future.

Maybe I see things through rose-colored glasses, but I don’t know any other way to approach life.

I am very proud of our accomplishments here at The Sun.

The awesome staff deserves the credit as they are the ones who do all the real work. I am just blessed enough to steer the bus a little bit.

Recently I reflected on some of the things we have done. For me, the highlights include:

— Created a positive culture and environment in the building

— Strengthened many bonds and partnerships within our community

— Refocused our content on Clark County news

— Strengthened the opinion page and added contributing columnists so that the newspaper and the community can share a variety of voices

— Started our Closer Look series to feature in-depth reporting in the weekend edition of the newspaper

— Implemented some efficiency improvements including a new distribution system

— Launched Winchester Living lifestyle magazine

— Revamped a host of niche products, including launching our Progress edition that became the newspaper’s most successful single publication of all time

I am sure I have forgotten some successes. I am also sure there are opportunities we have missed, but we will come back the next day and try to do better.

Our goal remains the same as it was a year ago: To make incremental progress, creating a better newspaper each and every day to serve our readers.

No one can keep time from ticking by in a flash, but that is just fine as long as we keep having fun.

Michael Caldwell is publisher of The Winchester Sun and Winchester Living magazine. He can be reached at (859) 759-0095 or by email at mike.caldwell@winchestersun.com.