It’s been a week since The Sun’s Brian Williams gave me my lesson in blogging …

So let’s get started …

First of all, here’s the who:

My name is Ann Walker, I have been Yuman since 1999, and I am currently a public relations specialist for the Yuma Visitors Bureau . (I was previously a copy editor, page designer and columnist for The Sun, so if you’re thinking the name is familiar, you’re right).

The Yuma Visitors Bureau is a nonprofit membership organization whose purpose is to promote Yuma as a great place to visit (and live), both locally and in the wider world. In case you didn’t know, we have a Visitor Information Center at 139 S. 4th Avenue, right between the Yuma Landing Restaurant and the Circle K. Through April, they’re open seven days a week, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, and noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Besides having all kinds of information about things to see and do in Yuma, they’ve got a great selection of unique Yuma merchandise, too, so check it out! You can call the VIC at 800-293-0071 or 783-0071, or call our admin office (and me!) at 928-376-0100, email ann@visityuma.com.

Which leads me into the what:

What this blog is supposed to be about is getting out in Yuma — discovering the adventures that are right in your own back yard. It’s “the Word from the Bird” because YVB’s logo features a great white egret standing in reeds at the edge of the river.

Yep, Yuma’s on the river’s edge, something a lot of folks don’t know about Our Fair City … and something that until recently was pretty darn hard to discover even if you were full-time, long-time or native Yuman. Even though it was the river that gave the city life — and its reason for being, since it sat at the best natural point to cross the river for hundreds of miles — Yuma had more or less turned its back on the Colorado.

But no more! We’re all about the river now (more about that in future posts).

And speaking of the river — and just to get it out of the way — I also happen to be married to Charles Flynn, executive director of the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area , which was the first heritage area to be designated by the federal government west of the Mississippi. It’s all legal between us (and has been for, oh, about 27 years!) — I just kept my maiden name (too many NNNNNNs in Annnnnnn Flynnnnnnn). Also, for Yuman interest, I am the proud mother of two Yuma Crims, Brendan Flynn (Class of 2002) and Adam Flynn (Class of 2004) — sorry, no link to the offspring, look ‘em up on Facebook if you’re young enough to understand all that!

Which leaves us with the why, where & how:

Why is partly just because The Sun asked me, and partly because YVB is all about getting the word out, however we can. The where is here — hopefully folks will find us, and if you find it interesting, tell your friends. The how I’m still figuring out — but be patient! It’ll get better, I promise!

So here it is … here I am … and hopefully, someone will discover this. If you’re that someone, and you have questions about what there is to do and see in Yuma, please post a comment — or email me directly.

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 29th, 2008 at 11:17 am and is filed under The Word from the Bird. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.