For 173 years, we at The Intelligencer have faithfully served our Upper Ohio Valley communities.

We are well aware of our newspaper’s rich, deep heritage and understand it has contributed much to our region, our states, even the nation since the newspaper was established on Aug. 24, 1852.

This weekend, we celebrate our birthday as most people do, by considering the past and, more importantly, the future.

We recall a decade ago when recognition of our long, distinguished history came as the Society of Professional Journalists designated The Intelligencer as a National Historic Site in Journalism. “Not too many newspapers can say they were instrumental in creating a state,” read part of the SPJ letter nominating us.

That’s something we take pride in — our newspaper was the leading voice for the founding of West Virginia! That recognition is important, but it only tells part of our story.

We at The Intelligencer recognize that awards and other types of honors carry with them a responsibility: Our predecessors have set high bars of dedication, excellence, courage and service. Our efforts to meet them must be — and are — difficult tasks requiring hard work and sometimes, sacrifice.

Doing that is a labor of love for us, however. Providing an excellent newspaper and digital platform — still by far the best source of information and editorial leadership in our area and in our state — means learning from the past and looking into the future for ways we can better serve and inform our friends and neighbors.

We do it because we care deeply about our readers – and because these are our communities, our states, our nation, too.

Today, our model for service remains what was proclaimed in the very first edition of The Intelligencer: “All that the people require in order to arrive at proper conclusions is light and information.” We continue to provide that information through news reports and that light through editorials analyzing them, through our print edition and our website, theintelligencer.net.

For 173 years, we’ve made it our mission to serve you with the most important and vital information each day, in a manner that best suits your needs.

We pride ourselves on being not only the oldest daily newspaper in the state of West Virginia, but for continuing to be the Upper Ohio Valley’s trusted source of information. That service to our community — providing trusted information that helps you navigate your daily life ­– is something we take very seriously.

While the way we deliver the news has come a long way since that first edition, the principles that have served this newspaper for nearly two centuries remain the same: a daily search for the truth; accountability for our government leaders; fact-based, unbiased reporting; and an unwavering commitment to this region.

So today, we hope you will join us in wishing ourselves a hearty “happy birthday!”

At the same time, we pledge to you there will be “many more” as we strive to serve you in the future.