From the Publisher's Desk

Welcome to The Stranger's very special 10th anniversary issue, "The Stranger Looks Back at 10 Years of The Stranger."

On behalf of the entire Keck family, I would like to express our collective awe at all our dedicated employees at The Stranger have managed to accomplish in the Seattle market. While Seattle is currently experiencing the brunt of our national recession, and while our profits from The Stranger, our Seattle property, are not what they once were, and while we have been entertaining a lucrative offer for this property from Blethen Family Newspapers, the commitment of Keck Family Newspapers to this community and to our employees in Seattle will last at least through the end of the next fiscal year.

While I haven't had the good fortune to personally visit the offices of The Stranger for many years, I cherish the memories of my last visit. I don't mind saying how much I love the delicious food in Seattle! Where else can you see fresh fish being thrown around and about a big brass pig? That is what makes the Pacific Northwest such a unique place to live and work.

And speaking of unique, everyone at Keck Family Newspapers is excited about our new program to bring "The Home Town Newspaper to the Home." Soon this paper will be delivered directly to the home offices of our readers through cutting-edge facsimile technology--or "fax" for short. The folks at The Stranger will be rolling out the "The Home Town Newspaper to the Home" program in Seattle in the third quarter of '02. At that time, we will discontinue distribution of this paper to coffee shops, clubs, and restaurants, and our newspaper boxes will be sold for scrap. As we like to say, "You will never look at your home-office fax in the same way again!"

My father wasn't an emotional man, but on special occasions he would open up to those who were close to him and say, "Due diligence can be difficult at times, but it always has upside potential--as long as you manage material adverse changes." And I think this anniversary would have been one of those special times. My congratulations to the staff of The Stranger, and to the Seattle-area residents who are fortunate enough to enjoy the product produced by our workforce there on a weekly basis.

And now, please enjoy this look back at the last 10 years with our compliments.

Best wishes,

Timothy Keck

Publisher

Keck Family Newspapers