For many people, page 3 of the Times-Journal is a page that rarely catches their attention, but it is not a page that should be forgotten.

Each morning, the newsroom staff at the Times-Journal add newly-submitted items to the community calendar.

For those who have skipped over page 3 in the past, or are new readers of the Times-Journal, the community calendar appears on page 3 six days a week.

On any given day, the calendar is full of church celebrations, government meetings and community events.

Since I arrived in Selma last August, I have been constantly amazed by the number of items added to the calendar every day.

To be honest, there have been times where the calendar has helped members of this staff find stories to write during the week.

This past week, I would have never heard of Big Daddy’s Offroad if not for the item that ran in our community calendar all of last week.

Like any news outlet, we strive to find the most news-worthy and interesting stories to fill our pages every day, and the calendar has certainly helped us do just that.

But the calendar doesn’t belong to the newspaper; it belongs to our readers.

While local churches, governments and community organizations are embracing Facebook, Twitter and other online outlets to promote their news and upcoming events, many more still rely on print media and the community calendar.

The calendar is there for the churches wanting to attract a large audience to celebrate a special anniversary, or the city council members who want to hear how their constituents feel about a particular issue.

It is no fluke that the community calendar is always full, as there is a lot going on in Selma and Dallas County.

We are blessed with so many great church and community events throughout the year in Selma, and it is my hope that our community calendar continues to spread the word about the events for many years to come.