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By now, you may have noticed that our 2021 edition of Progress has hit shelves or has been delivered to your home this past Saturday.

Every year, the staff of the Austin Daily Herald comes together to assemble our biggest special section of the year, filled with stories about your neighbors in Austin and throughout our coverage area.

However, we would be naive if we believed this year wasn’t more of a challenge than years past, as the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a negative impact on most everything, us included. This is evident in the smaller size of the publication, but we firmly believe that Progress is no less impactful simply because of the stories contained within.

We don’t strive to be controversial or investigative with Progress, instead we extolled the virtues of community and those things that make up a thriving community in each story.

And while it may have been more of a struggle this year to work around the constraints of pandemic, we believe it more important than ever to ensure the stories within Progress remain as positive as ever.

Yes, some of these stories contained within touch on the pandemic, but more so on the side of weathering the storm and how each person has done what they can to remain positive. The story on how small business owners are adapting in the wake of economic turmoil left over by the pandemic is one such example of this.

There are stories of achievement and the future contained within these pages, along with ads from businesses throughout the area who still found it worth it to advertise within our pages. Progress has become a staple in the Austin Daily Herald, and while 2020 and so far this year have been difficult, we feel that the stories within are just as powerful and poignant as those told in past issues.

We here at the Herald are proud of the work put into this edition of Progres and we hope you are too, because for our readers this is a source of pride -— a pride taken from being part of a community and area that can boast such stories of positivity.

If you haven’t picked up or received your copy yet, we encourage you to stop down and claim a copy. You’ll be glad you did.