We hope you enjoy ‘The Best’

Located in this week’s issue of both the Custer County Chronicle and the Hill City Prevailer News you will find our “The Best” supplement, which highlights the best of the things that happened in 2020 in both Custer and Hill City. It’s a 56-page issue that we have been working on for quite some time.
The Best is mostly lighthearted, although there are a few entries that really weren’t the best of anything, but were still significant enough to merit being included in the issue. COVID-19 is one example. You can’t tell the story of the year that was without mentioning the virus, which dominated pretty much every day in 2020 after mid-March. It’s something we are still living with.
Putting this special section together isn’t easy and is worked on literally year-round. Gray Hughes at the Prevailer and Jason Ferguson at the Chronicle spend time each week of the year pulling significant and fun moments from the year and stockpiling them for possible inclusion into The Best. By the end of the year, they have quite a stack to choose from, and not everything makes the cut.
Kate Najacht spends months selling the advertising for the piece and Joshua Najacht spends months putting those ads together for our valued advertisers. After that it’s layout time, and it’s not an overnight thing to put together something that is 56 pages. It takes some time, but it’s a labor of love.
That brings us to the advertisers. The reason this piece can be 56 pages is because the advertisers make it possible. Without their steadfast support, we could never create this piece, let alone have it balloon to 56 full-color pages, which it has done over the years. It has continued to grow since its inception and we owe it to our advertisers who truly are the best. So, if you like “The Best,” let the advertisers know. Do business with them. Let them know you saw their ad in “The Best.” Let them know you appreciation their part in making it happen. It simply wouldn’t exist without them.
The easy part of putting the supplement together is finding things from our neck of the woods that are the best. That’s because we live in the best place in the world, the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota. There is always something going on in Custer and Hill City, and that is reflected in the issue. The people and events are what make our little corner of the world so special and we hope that is reflected in this keepsake edition.
As we trek down the path of 2021, it’s nice to take a fun look back at the year that was. Yes, 2020 wasn’t the best year by any stretch of the imagination, but it had its great moments, too. You’ll find those reflected in the 56 pages in the supplement. We look forward to 2021 being the best year yet. Thank you for your support.