Stephanie Gross Explains Community Sharing on Patch

Stephanie Gross, editor of the Oconee Patch, is building an online tool where residents can read and share news, events, and community insights.

Gross showing some of Patch's
features to a journalism class.

She perks up and the excitement builds in her shoulders as she explains to a class of journalism students that, as the site operates 24 hours a day, she has to be ready to go work on breaking news coverage at 2 a.m.

Gross is driven by her genuine care for Oconee County and her reporting is strong because of it.

Patch is a good fit for her passion. This news organization, owned by AOL and headquartered in New York City, runs websites all over the country where people in the area can connect.

Gross said to the class that, while it is a news website with local reporting, “it’s really more of a community site” where people’s blogs are published, user photos are added to news stories, events are posted, and the cheapest gas prices are updated.

It’s clear from Patch’s homepage that Gross incorporates social media and multimedia in her news coverage to make it more relevant to users.  

While she couldn’t reveal all the details, she did say that Patch had far outperformed its goals. With all the user-involvement allowing her to tailor the coverage it’s no surprise the site is doing so well.

Check out the Oconee Patch at http://oconee.patch.com/ or the Athens Patch at http://athens.patch.com/

Future Shopping at the Epps Bridge Centre

The construction sight just off Epps Bridge Parkway will soon be the Epps Bridge Centre, a shopping center featuring a Movie Theatre, PetSmart, Marshall’s and the discount shoe retailer Off Broadway.

B.R. White, head of both the Oconee County Planning Department and Oconee County code enforcement revealed that these businesses had been given building permits so they could become part of the $76 million project covering 80 acres of land.

My journalism professor, who had a talk with White about the new Centre, relayed that the Georgia Theatre Company intends to open a University 16 Stadium Theatre by Memorial Day of 2013.

According to White more tenants for the Centre are being discussed currently.

A Taste of Oconee Fundraiser

Local food and music will be showcased on April 21 at this year’s A Taste of Oconee, a fundraiser benefitting the Oconee County Middle School (OCMS) Fine Arts Program. 

The fundraiser will feature cuisine from a variety of local vendors and performances by members of the chorus and band in the fine arts program at OCMS.
 Tickets will be available for purchase soon at OCMS, the Oconee Civic Center and the Oconee County Chamber of Commerce. 
More information about the fundraiser is available at http://www.atasteofoconee.com/.