Looking back on a year of community spirit

Bear with me, the festive season has gone to my head.

I have spent the last few days rifling through a years worth of the Mail, reflecting on 12 months of news, community spirit, country town politics, natural phenomenon, laughs, life and a little bit of love.

I threw on the journo cap at the Mail in early February, having dreamed of being a newspaper reporter since I was a very young child.

It was a long, often odd journey which led me to Margaret River and landed me in this role.

Ive learned a few things about the place since moving down from Perth full time a few years ago some eye opening, some hair raising, some downright infuriating - and the one thing that stands out above all others is the genuine kindness and good nature of the overwhelming majority of people who live in our region.

Its the end of the year, a time when we all talk about being better people, drinking less, giving more, losing weight, gaining respect.

Well Im here to tell you that you are pretty darn alright as you are.

Over this year, Ive watched communities large and small rally together to collect strangers from the brink of hopelessness.

Ive seen cookies baked and doonas donated, pups rescued and toys returned.

Ive seen larger scale organised efforts to right the wrongs of homelessness and to support the rights of asylum seekers.

I have watched children learn the importance of community involvement and civic duty simply by observing their parents, passionate about making their corner of the world a better place.

Sure, there have certainly been some disappointing lows.

Nasty social media brawls that descend into name calling serve only to splinter our community into smaller factions rather than allowing everyone (yes, even the ones who cant spell or the ones who make wildly inaccurate claims) to say their piece and disagree respectfully.

Debating is a skill, and one we should all try to master.

It makes us a better group of humans.

Then there are all the times Ive been screamed at in the supermarket carpark, or trying to turn right at the top of town, or nearly killed on the way to Augusta (more times than I can count) by someone simply just too impatient to tolerate my 110km/h.

Or when a neighbour decides tuning their car stereo at 6am on a Sunday is a top idea.

But all those things, those minor niggles and annoyances that try to shake my confidence in this place, dont have a chance against the groups of people who spend every second of their spare time making our home a fantastic place to live.

From the Soupie to the Lions Garage Sale, River Angels to the Mens Sheds, sporting clubs, social groups, GoFundMe callouts, event organisers and champions of live music, right down to the kind folk who leave an item or two in the regular food drives at our supermarkets.

On a more personal level, the countless contributors of sport and community news, the people who have sent in leads and given me the heads up on things happening around town thank you.

It can be a challenge covering the 2,200 square kilometres this Shire represents and providing adequate coverage of all the amazing things that happen here within our pages.

Put simply, I couldnt do it without our contributors who help me bring this paper to you each week, along with our fantastic team of journalists and advertising staff throughout the South West, who have backed me up through sickness, exhaustion and crazy weekends like the Pro and Gourmet Escape.

On an even more personal level, I have to thank (and possibly apologise) to my partner Fuzz, who has taken thousands of photos, kept me caffeinated and fed on deadline days, and listened to me natter about every minor drama in town.

Thank you all for being legendary, bring on 2017.

Nicky Lefebvre