We want to hear about all the good things that happen at your church or house of worship.

We'd like you to share your faith-based stories that impact your communities with us online so that we can share them with the readers of our print editions.

Here are details on how to:

• Create an event (Like Rejoice Lutheran Church of Coppell did)
• Upload a story (Like the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints did about their nearly 3,000 hours of service in Allen.)
• Post a photo (Like a member of Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church did of a special visit by Andy Williams.)
• Submit a video (Like Carolyn Campbell did of an IBOC Sunday service)
• Create a blog (Like Sam Garrett did to document a mission trip to Uganda.)

For more about how our Web site works with our newspaper - and for examples of how posting on neighborsgo.com can help you reach a bigger audience - please visit neighborsgo.com/help.

If you have any questions or need more information, please drop us a line at community@neighborsgo.com.

Everyone reading this knows someone who has served in the military.

Whether he or she is a friend, a family member or a neighbor, you know the effort they put into serving their country and the courage it took to do their duty.

On Nov. 6, neighborsgo will honor area veterans by sharing their stories with you in our 17 print editions.

But there are so many stories and too few neighborsgo editors.

This is why we are asking you for help.

We’d like you to share stories about the veterans you know with us on neighborsgo.com.

If you’ve posted before, thank you.

If you haven’t, welcome! Simply click on the sign up now link on our home page. (You can also get more details on how our Web site works with our newspaper at neighborsgo.com/help.)

Questions or comments? Contact us at community@neighborsgo.com or 214-977-8649 if you need assistance.

Posting your veteran-related stories and photos online today will allow us to share them with readers in next Friday’s print editions and remind everyone of one of history’s greatest lessons: Freedom isn’t free.

If you prefer words, here's the story.

But since this particular story is such a visual one, here is the winning image and the Top 30 finalists - click on them to access the photoplay and mosaic of finalists in our 2009 Hit Us With Your Best Shot photo contest.

Thanks again to everyone who entered our third annual State Fair photo contest, and best of luck next year!

 

 

Here's a list of the 30 finalists in the neighborsgo 2009 Hit Us With Your Best Shot photo contest, with a link to each entry.

 

• The Thrill of It All by Allan Koenig of Dallas (Grand prize, Week 3 winner)
  
• Sleigh Motion by Gail Atwater (2nd place overall)
  
• Big Owen by Clay Coleman of Dallas (3rd place overall)
  
• Splash Zone by Rachel Plumley of McKinney (Honorable mention overall, Week 2 winner)

• Shadow Splash, Foggy Fair, Logged In and Neon Midway by Rhiannon Lee of Mesquite

• Catnap and Jet Pilot by Andie Smith of Denton County

• Star Bright and Big Texplosion by Cathy Hamm of North Dallas

• Highs and Lows by Laura Shaheen of McKinney
• Midway Nights by Tom B. of North Dallas
• Bird of the World by Dawn Segroves
• Butterfly by Amy Maxey of Coppell
• Eyes Wide Shut by Shelby Bennett of Coppell
• Parade Wave by Jennifer Walz of Dallas
• Zebra Vision by Sandy Winkel of Rockwall
• Mammoth Shot by Kelley Huebner of Lake Highlands
• Cotton Candy Girls by Holly Peck of Allen
• Bike Magic by H. Richard Gallo of Arlington
• Focused on Fun by Roxanne Ramirez of Flower Mound
• Kiss The Sky by Vena Martin of The Colony
• Six Little Piggies by Karl Kiser
• Done For The Day by Greg Gibson of Lakewood
• Aqua Tex by Christine Sottile of Richardson
• Lexi Ride by Kyanne Todd of Carrollton
• Jason Castro by Donna Michalko of King of Prussia, Pa.
• Corny Face by Christy Robbins of Plano (Week 1 winner)

 

Give yourselves credit, neighborsgo nation.

It keeps raining, but you keep finding interesting State Fair photos to enter in our Hit Us With Your Best Shot photo contest.

Below are the Week 3 finalists and winner. We had some cute kids, some interesting angles and some awesome action shots.

Here are two more reasons to smile: The sun is actually coming out, even as I type. And we still have a grand prize to give away.

The deadline to enter is Monday at noon. Your work could appear in print and be judged by a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer at The Dallas Morning News. (Details on how to enter can be found here. To comment on the photos below, simply click on them and make sure you have a neighborsgo.com log-in.) Good luck, everyone!

• Hit Us With Your Best Shot: Week 2
  
• Hit Us With Your Best Shot: Week 1
• All 2009 State Fair photos shared by contributors 
• Photo Booth Follies (starring the neighborsgo players)
  

Dawn Redig, our Rockwall-Rowlett-Heath neighborsgo editor, passed along this nice note that she received from Cheryl Harris of Keep Rowlett Beautiful.

In our print editions every week, we share the positive impact that so many groups and people out there have on their communities. Help us help you spread your community-centric news by posting your stories in your own words and images on neighborsgo.com.

(We also appreciate getting such kind notes from readers, so keep them coming - thanks for this one, Cheryl!)

First, thank you for helping Keep Rowlett Beautiful get the attention of our community. I want to let you know how it helped us recently.

We posted a story and calendar item about our Electronic Recycling event. We have been hosting these once or twice a year with some success. But, our event in September was a remarkable success, for Rowlett and the commercial recycling company.

Over a three hour period, in the Wal-Mart parking lot, we estimate at least 200 vehicles lined up to drop off an interesting variety of electronic related items. When the collected items were sorted and weighed at the recycling center, we had collected 14,258 pounds of discards that filled two full-size trucks. It was one of the largest collections the recycler had ever received.

And, it will not end up in our landfill.

We appreciate your exposure and support. You are helping us to Keep Rowlett Beautiful.

Cheryl Harris

Every once in a while, something comes along that reflects that "feel-good" energy back on us.

Such is the case with the story of a Realtor following up with a client 53 years after she sold him his house.

The Realtor is Ebby Halliday, 98; the client is Raymond Ogas, 97.

In case you missed the links, here they are:

• neighborsgo.com: A special meeting after more than 50 years
• dallasnews.com blog post: Ebby Halliday: A friend in deed
• neighborsgo.com photoplay: A friend in deed
  

Below are comments we've received across several platforms, including dallasnews.com, neighborsgo.com, Facebook and Twitter. They're great reminders of why it's called "social" media.

If you'd like to share your comments, please do! (Just click on any of the links above or in the "comments" area below.)

Thanks for being such a great audience, neighborsgo nation!

Admit it: Your spam filter works a little too well.

You miss the early 1990s, when the Internet was new and every e-mail was a promise of a brighter future.

Remember those times?

Strangers wanted to trust you with their money; lotteries you don’t recall entering in countries you’ve never visited pulled up your lucky number; and attractive folks you’d never seen wanted to meet you.

As a public service, neighborsgo.com has started a blog that hearkens back to this simpler time and reminds you of these many business propositions conducted in formal, almost-perfect English.

On behalf of all the children of assassinated African leaders who still are desperately trying to contact you, we pay homage to that little sliver of anarchic annoyance: the spam message.

Behold: Spam: A love story!

Here are the Week 2 finalists and winner for our Hit Us With Your Best Shot photo contest.

There's one more weekly prize to give out, plus a shot at getting your work judged by a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer at The Dallas Morning News. So what are you waiting for? Enter early, enter often, enter here.

• Hit Us With Your Best Shot: Week 1
• All 2009 State Fair photos shared by contributors 
• Photo Booth Follies (starring the neighborsgo players)
  

The State Fair is up and running, and so is our third annual Hit Us With Your Best Shot photo contest.

Each week, we're picking a winner and featuring it in all 17 of our print editions. (The photographer also gets an iPod Shuffle.) 

By posting a 2009 State Fair photo on neighborsgo.com, readers are eligible for our grand prize, which will be judged by a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer at The Dallas Morning News.

Week 1 saw some great entries, including a local hero turned pop star, a smiling corny dog and the Big Man himself.

Scroll down to see the Week 1 finalists, plus the winner, which is a great antidote to the dreary weather we've been having around here lately.

Congratulations to all and thanks to everyone who has shared their images with us. (And if you didn't win or would like to enter, don't worry - we encourage people to post early and often. Find details on how to do so here.) Enjoy! 

WEEK 1 WINNER!

Facebook has one.

So does Twitter, Google and YouTube.

And now, neighborsgo does, too.

This blog will focus on sharing reader feedback, explaining our features and figuring out the best way to serve you and your neighbors.

Sign up/on to neighborsgo.com to share your comments or drop us a line at community@neighborsgo.com if you have any questions, comments or suggestions regarding our Web site or our print editions.

The direct URL to this blog is neighborsgo.com/blog/go.