From the editor: Wishing Surf City happy anniversary and celebrating our staff photographer

As I read today’s cover story about Surf City celebrating its 75th anniversary, I couldn’t help but imagine that its story is much like that of many beach towns along the North Carolina coast.

In the past 20 years or so, more and more people have discovered this quaint coastal community and decided to call it home. And the town itself has grown through annexation, which has allowed for more business opportunities on the mainland.

What struck me most in the story, though, is longtime residents’ commitment to maintaining the small-town feel and how newcomers appreciate those efforts.

It’s been a number of years since I’ve visited Surf City, but the picture in my head looks like a postcard. And, luckily, our photographer Ken Blevins captured that picturesque feel in his photos.

More:Celebrating 75 years, Surf City revisits its past while planning for the future

Speaking of Ken, I’d like to take a minute to give him a shoutout for the incredible work he does for the StarNews. Many of you have probably run into Ken over the years – whether at your kid’s sporting event or during the course of news coverage.

He’s always going from one thing to another to ensure coverage of our community and no two days are the same. I’m so pleased to see his work getting highlighted in the “Amazing photo of the week” feature. With our Sunday revamp, we put more emphasis on local stories and photos. Today’s photo captured the moment a runner learned he’d taken first place in the Wilmington Marathon.

You can see more of Ken’s recent work online at https://www.starnewsonline.com/staff/5715802002/ken-blevins/.

Sherry Jones is the StarNews executive editor. You can reach her at sjones1@gannett.com.