One year ago today, Wentzville Patch came to life. Weeks of preparation, introductions and explanations reached fruition when the site went up and Patch's first 14 stories posted.

As I explained last year, Wentzville Patch is your site for news, events and opinions about Wentzville. Your contributions are invaluable to the site and I appreciate every person who adds their calendar event, comments on a story or sends me a news tip.

Over the past year, Patch has grown in audience and depth. Since Dec. 22, 2010, we've posted 2,275 articles, hundreds of announcements, tons of calendar events and bunches of comments on our news and views.

I'm happy to say that more than 500 people follow @WentzvillePatch on Twitter and 327 people get their hometown news on our Facebook page. Even more people come to the site each day.

It's been a big year for me — I can't begin to explain how much I have appreciated the warm welcome Patch has received in Wentzville since we launched. It is a joy to come to work each day and cover the news and events around town.

It's been a newsy year for Wentzville and I hope 2012 brings more of the same. I thought I would share some of my favorite highlights from the past year.

Here are a few stories that resonated with me:

• The GM plant expansion was announced. The second shift and new line will bring new jobs to the area.
• Sam's Club and Chick-fil-A announced plans for expansion into Wentzville. Chick-fil-A is slated to open in February and Sam's Club by the end of 2012.
• Wentzville voters in April passed Proposition 3, paving the way for the expansion of several buildings and the construction of a third high school in the Wentzville R-IV School District.
• The owners of US Fidelis were indicted by the state of Missouri. The cases for Darain and Cory Atkinson are still pending.
• City Administrator Dianna Wright left her post in August. The Board of Aldermen and Mayor Paul Lambi are still working to fill the position, which Lambi said will take several months.
• Police Chief Robert Noonan retired after years of service with the city. His successor will start her post in January.
• Timberland's Montee Ball was a finalist for the 2011 Heisman Trophy. His University of Wisconsin Badgers will play in the Rose Bowl.

What were your biggest Wentzville moments over the past year? Share them with everyone in the comment section.

Thank you for reading and for all your contributions to the site over the past year. I look forward to an even bigger and better 2012 for Wentzville Patch!