First and foremost, thank you for taking the time to read this column.

Whether you are doing so with the tried-and-true newspaper, online at lobservateur.com or because of a social media link, you are part of a large community of readers taking time to support local journalism.

“Just how large a group,” you may ask — how about 400,000.

That’s right. There have been approximately 400,000 reads of L’OBSERVATEUR-produced stories in the last three months. Those reads come in many forms, as our news team has worked to quench the thirst for locally produced journalism through as many avenues as possible.

The hard copy L’OBSERVATEUR edition is produced — and will continue to be produced — at a rate of 5,000 copies each week. That effort is 107 years strong and is not going anywhere.

Yet, as our community’s desire has grown for more stories in a multi-dimensional format, we are meeting that challenge.

Lobservateur.com is averaging nearly 130,000 individual sessions per month, River Parishes Magazine editions are consistently consumed in their full run capacity each quarter and our new LaPlace NewsMedia podcast is averaging hundreds of listens per episode.

The desire from the local community to learn about and enjoy news and stories that directly impact them is as strong as ever.

As Baton Rouge- and New Orleans-based news organizations largely ignore the River Region unless it’s a negative story, L’OBSERVATEUR has grown.

We certainly could not have accomplished this without the help of hundreds of local and regional advertisers who value our audience as much as we value our readers.

In the five years I’ve been lucky enough to serve as editor and publisher of L’OBSERVATEUR, our reach has grown tenfold. Thanks to a talented staff and tremendous audience, that trend is going to continue.

The opportunity to work with L’OBSERVATEUR, in St. John the Baptist Parish and the River Region came at an important time in my life, and without me ever realizing, put me on a path to being a better father, husband and man.

This community and its people, who are now my trusted neighbors and friends, embraced my wife and children, providing a home I so desperately craved.

I grew up in Southeastern Louisiana and moved away for college, only returning 18 years later when I accepted the honor of working here in May 2014.

So, it’s with a heavy heart that I am taking a position with another newspaper in our media company.

My last official day is May 31, but my partnership with this community and L’OBSERVATEUR remains strong. L’OBSERVATEUR’s growth and local impact will continue thanks to talented team members Christine Browning and Brooke Robichaux.

I can’t thank my St. John neighbors enough for giving me a chance to tell their stories. It’s been an honor to sit on the frontlines of so many amazing stories.

Much of the reporting thrilled me, other stories made me cry and some made me mad, but they were all 100 percent genuine and could not have been accomplished without a willing audience and giving hearts.

Thank you so much St. John the Baptist Parish and the River Region. You mean so much more to me than you could ever imagine.

Stephen Hemelt is publisher and editor of L’OBSERVATEUR. He can be reached at 985-652-9545 or stephen.hemelt@lobservateur.com.