Mainstreet Daily News has come a long way in a short period of time. 
 
In fact, we just celebrated our fifth year of existence this past May. Our growth defies national trends. 
 
This December will mark two years since Mainstreet launched a membership program with a goal of reaching 1,000 members by the end of 2025. It’s also a milestone for me as it will be my fifth year anniversary as Sports Director. 
 
Thanks for signing up for my free sports newsletter, which also just celebrated its fourth year this past April and is delivered every Monday and Friday straight to your inbox (excluding holidays). 
 
Another big milestone was reached this month. Although we are a digital-first publication, Mainstreet launched its print edition in June 2022—three years ago now. Plus, we doubled print distribution in October 2024. 
 
Two things that attracted me to this position were the opportunity to promote local prep sports and no paywall, so you get our coverage at no charge to the viewer or listener. 
 
As a radio broadcaster of 25 years in Gainesville, the one thing I learned long ago was “live and local.” It’s very important to promote local sports to the community and we do that in several different ways at Mainstreet. 
 
In addition to our coverage online and in print, I host a weekly high school sports show, “The Prep Zone,” at Sonic Drive-In of Gainesville (Archer Road & 39th Avenue locations). Every Wednesday during the school year, we host a different sports team on the program, which is broadcast on our website both ‘live’ and ‘archived,’ featuring interviews with coaches and players. 
 
Some of our past interviews from this past year include the state champion Trenton softball team, Newberry boys basketball, GHS volleyball, Buchholz cross country, and P.K. Yonge girls soccer, all of whom will be featured in our Sonic Summer Highlights during the month of July. 
 
Mainstreet also broadcasts two high school games per week from August to May for football, basketball, softball and baseball. In fact, Hank Rone and I broadcast a football Game of the Week on 106.9 FM “I am Country” in Gainesville every Friday night in the fall. 
 
Our other football game is broadcast on our website, giving us two football broadcasts every week during the season, including the playoffs. 
 
I believe that sets us apart. We broadcast the games, and then we write a recap of the games. 
 
It’s only part of what we do, and it’s making such a huge impact in young people’s lives. 
 
But the purpose of today’s newsletter is not to promote, but more of a call to action. We want to do more, but we need help. 
 
As the only full-time sports employee, our membership program is a critical part of making Mainstreet sustainable for the long-term benefit of the community. 
 
Not only do members get some great perks, such as members-only monthly newsletters, special event access like Gator football, basketball and baseball tickets, and opportunities to meet our staff at fun events, but the most important one is helping us give you, the reader, free access to both our coverage online and our weekly print edition. 
 
We’re currently at 734 members, and we need to reach 750 by the end of June. We only need 16 more to go by Monday to stay on track! 
 
Would you help us meet our goal? Click here to become a member today. 
 
Thank you for your support. Together, we are making a huge contribution to our community.