Since 1865, The Greenville Advocate has been a vital part of this community.

For 150 years, the Advocate has kept the community informed and connected, held local officials accountable and given a voice to residents of Greenville and Butler County.

Over the years, the look of the newspaper and the type of stories that have filled its pages has changed as the community has changed. The Greenville Advocate has always strived to be relevant in our community. Today is no different.

In order to remain relevant and serve the needs of our community, we are encouraging our readers to engage with our newspaper. We are looking for readers who will offer feedback, help us with ideas and let us know what stories they feel are important to the community by joining our reader advisory committee.

The size of the committee will be up to 11 members, but active participation will likely vary. Members and newspaper staff will discuss ways we can shore up weaknesses and make existing strengths even better, in print and online.

The committee would meet with at least one member of the editorial staff here at the newspaper’s office once a month, probably in the early evening. Of course, if we are to have a board, we need members to sit on the committee.

That’s where you come in.

Ideally, we have at least one representative from a variety of possible backgrounds — business, education, government, nonprofit, the arts, seniors, teens and perhaps other categories not listed here.

The only qualification is that you are willing to take action to help make this newspaper the very best resource it can be for our town by offering constructive feedback.  We believe that The Greenville Advocate is a community asset. As we safeguard its most important benefits and find new ways to engage with you, we need you to be part of the conversation.

If you would like to take part in this community project, send us a brief letter — about 150 words — outlining why you would like to be on the reader advisory board. You can email your response to managing editor Andy Brown at andy.brown@greenvilleadvocate.com or send it to 103 Hickory St., Greenville, AL 36037.

We look forward to hearing from you.