Editorial by Paul Grzella, General Manager and Editor of the Courier News, the Home News Tribune and MyCentralJersey.com

I believe one of the very powerful elements of our Internet platform is the way it involves you, our readers, in the community conversation in surprising and fun ways.

To this point, MyCentralJersey.com has just launched several new, very local initiatives that need your views, thoughts and participation.

First up, watch six videos on MyCentralJersey.com/sips and cast your vote for who should "Be the Voice" of SIPSNATION.com.

The newspapers and MyCentralJersey.com are community partners with Somerset’s Initiative for Partying Safely, SIPS, a movement coordinated by EmPoWER Somerset to prevent underage drinking, drunken driving and other negative consequences of alcohol use, specifically among adults ages 18 to 25.

In August, EmPoWER Somerset launched the "Be the Voice of SIPSNATION.com" contest in an effort to find a representative who can provide a real face and voice to the issues impacting the SIPS audience.
Two local auditions were conducted at a Somerset Patriots game in Bridgewater and at Reading Cinemas in Manville.  Adults ages 18 to 25 were invited to audition on camera. After filming 35 auditions at these events, six candidates were selected as finalists.

The person chosen to "Be the Voice" of SIPSNATION.com will be a key component in the organization’s social media campaign at SIPSNATION.com and will have opportunities to be present and speak at events, contribute to focus groups, and help direct the future of SIPS.

Voting will be available through Nov. 22. Click here to view the videos and cast your vote.

Throughout November, eager young writers (and adults, if they so desire) also are invited to go to MyCentralJersey.com/holidays and post their essay on "What the Holidays Mean to Me: My Holiday Tradition."  In the more than 1,500 essays we received for this program last year, children wrote about a variety of topics – snow, Santa, family, church services, temples, Thanksgiving, Kwanzaa, Muslim holy days, Christmas, New Year’s and more. They were all fun to read, and this year, we hope that we double that number of submissions.

We ask that the young writers (or poets) submit their written response of 100 to 150 words to the topic "What the Holidays Mean To Me: My Holiday Tradition" by going to www.MyCentralJersey.com/whattheholidays. There you will find a new, easy-to-use form which will enable you to post each essay directly to us. Each essay must have the writer’s first and last name, grade and school (including town) where applicable.

Essays may be submitted now through Nov. 29.  Some of the essays we receive will be chosen to be printed in a special holiday-themed section of the Community Life section of the Dec. 12 Courier News and Home News Tribune. And all of the essays will be featured on a special part of MyCentralJersey.com, dedicated to this program and organized by town. The writer’s work, identified by their full name and grade, will be categorized by school. This section will be up through December.

Of those essays chosen to be printed in the newspapers, six will be randomly chosen to receive Barnes & Noble gift certificates and another 50 will be randomly chosen to receive Applebee’s gift certificates.
We hope young writers are inventive and have fun doing this. We simply ask that they honor the word length and meet the Nov. 29 deadline, in order that we can process all the material.

The Courier News Wish Book will be in the newspaper on Nov. 21, and the Home News Tribune Needy Cases will be in the newspaper on Dec. 5.  If you wish to follow this one reader’s example and provide a donation before the sections’ publication, you may do so by sending checks to the following addresses:

Courier News Wish Book, 92 E. Main St., Suite 202, Somerville, NJ 08876.

Needy Cases Fund, Home News Tribune, 35 Kennedy Blvd., East Brunswick, NJ 08816.

And don’t forget to go to MyCentralJersey.com/sips, MyCentralJersey.com/whattheholidays, and MyCentralJersey.com/dailydeal to be part of our ongoing community conversation.

Paul C. Grzella is general manager and editor of the Courier News, the Home News Tribune and MyCentralJersey.com. E-mail him at moc.yesreJlartneCyM@allezrgp or call him at 908-243-6601 or 732-565-7215.