Elders have always told me to savor the now — the older you get, the faster time seems to tick.

I am indeed experiencing that phenomenon as my 35th birthday approaches this week. Jordan and I have owned the Democrat for nearly five months now, and in many ways, it feels like we just started yesterday.

In other ways, it feels like we’ve owned it forever. Previously, as editor of the Democrat and The Monett Times, my time was spread exceptionally thin covering sports for seven school districts, contributing as much as I could on the news side and, near the end of last year, taking a more significant amount of time editing the paper’s design.

Now, with just the Democrat and vastly greater decision-making responsibilities, I could not be happier with how the first 137 days have gone.

We still have many ideas we are hoping to get off the ground, but even in the short amount of time we have been in charge, we have expanded quite a bit.

Some of it is the little, less noticeable stuff. For example, in our first 20 issues, we have had less than 14 pages only once. Also, every paper has A and B sections, providing at least four color pages and a dedicated sports front.

It may not seem like much, but the quality and look of the newspaper is something we greatly pride ourselves on — it is also only a portion of what we do.

Since our website change last year, I have worked with our vendor to create a navigable site that showcases all our products in different ways. One big change is we now post stories from our special editions directly to the site instead of just the electronic edition.

We are also expanding our digital ad offerings and giving area businesses a great way to reach thousands of Barry County eyeballs weekly.

In-house, we’ve revamped nearly all of our processes and have found our rhythm. Jordan is handling legal and obituary submissions personally, and I have added all print and digital ad design to my plate.

The other day, a woman walked in wanting an ad the day before publication. It was just a 2×2, and she waited in my office for a few minutes as I put it together on the page.

That ability to do ads in-house — previously, our ad builds were outsourced and took a couple of days to get back — is something I have come to enjoy and a service fewer and fewer newspapers provide these days.

Another accomplishment I’d spotlight is that our sports and some event photos are now available for purchase. When I researched within the industry on how to do this, most publishers said it was cumbersome and not worth the time.

It took me a couple weeks, but I found a way that works, and as of today, more than 7,300 photos have been uploaded. More than 5,000 of those were taken in the last two weeks at four of our five local graduations. Wheaton’s was the same time as Southwest’s, or I would have made all five in our coverage area.

Another idea worth mentioning is our “Back 2 You” campaign, in which we are setting aside 2 percent of ad revenue from special projects to donate to various local non-profits relating to those special sections at the end of the year.

That was Jordan’s idea, and I could not be more proud to have such a community-minded partner in this business.

As much as we are doing, we want to do more. We have a slate of new special sections coming out this summer, including a “College Bound” tab, highlighting future plans of our graduates and spotlighting valedictorians, at the end of this month, as well as a “Staycation” tab, your guide to local resorts and where to vacation near home.

We also have a new magazine in the works for the fall based on our “Through the Years” section in the paper, and there are a few other plans of ours that we are not yet ready to announce.

As 35 calls, I sit back and look at my last five years. In that time, I have met the love of my life and now have two beautiful daughters, and without really expecting, I am the proud owner of a local weekly newspaper that is thriving in a changing and challenging industry.

All I need now is for time to slow down just a bit so I can enjoy it more.

Kyle Troutman has served as the editor of the Cassville Democrat since 2014. In 2017, he was named William E. James/Missouri Outstanding Young Journalist for daily newspapers, and in 2022, he won a Golden Dozen Award from ISWINE. He may be reached at 417-847-2610 or ktroutman@cassville-democrat.com.