Hi, Cranford!

Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Camilo (pronounced ka-meelo) and I'm your new local editor for Cranford Patch. I'm taking over for Cranford's editor Toniann Antonelli, who has been keeping you informed for over a year.

I'm no stranger to Patch, having just been the editor of Summit Patch, where I started in October 2011. A little about me: Before coming to Patch I was a social media editor and web producer at NBC.com, for a niche news site. Before that I worked as a freelance writer in Latin America; and prior to that adventure I was a copy editor and writer at the Los Angeles Times.

For me, hyper-local used to mean Downtown L.A. or Hollywood, but since I moved back to my home state in 2011, I've become more attuned to the workings of town government, the school board, local businesses and the interests of people like you.

I grew up in Linden, so I'm very familiar with Cranford. It's a real pleasure to be able to cover a town so close to home. I've had some great experiences and met some fantastic people doing community journalism. It's the local stuff that really matters—people's stories and the different aspects of the towns that make up our state, and our country.

You can be sure that Cranford Patch will remain a strong news and information site for people who live and work here.

Reach out to me at Camilo.Smith@patch.com or Cranford@Patch.com, call or text me at 908-812-6281. And don't forget to follow my updates on Facebook facebook.com/CranfordPatch and Twitter @CranfordPatch

See you around Cranford.

Camilo H. Smith
Cranford Patch Local Editor