This column appears in over 300 publications in almost every state and a number of countries from the US to Networker Magazine in Dubai. The one thing in common with almost all of them is that they are all small towns with ideals and values to which people in small towns subscribe.

I moved to St. Cloud, Florida in 1989 and fell in love with a town that was a lot like the one I left, Lexington, SC. St. Cloud is located southeast of Orlando and at the time I made the move, I chose it largely because it had so few stop lights and a back way to the airport that did not require me to pay tolls. St. Cloud in the News runs “Behind the Mike” each week and the locals love their weekly paper.

But St. Cloud is so much more. My favorite thing to do here is to attend “Movie in the Park, which is held once a month on the shores of East Lake Toho. St. Cloud’s Bulldog athletics is typical small town America. You know every kid on the team and their parents as well.

Lexington, SC was much the same way. Lexington folks love their Wildcat athletic teams, their festivals and their rich Dutch-German roots. On the fourth of July they have the big Lexington County Peach Festival. Other times during the year they celebrate the SC Peanut Party in Pelion and the Okra Strut in Irmo, just to name a couple, and they are all featured in the Lexington Chronicle-Dispatch News.

In Jal, New Mexico, the locals love their Jal Panthers. Jal is so positive about their athletics that they actually posted the dates of the State Championship games as part of their regular season schedule. “Behind the Mike” appears in the Jal Record, which showcases some terrific features like “Grandparents Corner.” You have to love weekly papers.

Like the Linsborg News-Record in Lindsborg, Kansas, another weekly that carries our column in a community with a rich blend of history and culture from Swedish heritage. Lindsborg's Svensk Hyllningsfest is a biennial tribute to the Swedish pioneers occurring in October of odd numbered years. The festival features art, crafts, special foods, ethnic music, folk dancing, parade, smörgåsbord, and special entertainment. The festival coincides with the Bethany College homecoming. Many of Lindsborg's residents don traditional Swedish folk costumes for the event. Swedish folk dance groups and musicians add to the Swedish flavor of the festival.

And you would love the festival on the shores of Boy Scout Hill in White Rock Lake, Texas which is near Dallas. The White Rock Lake Weekly runs our column there and the area is truly for the “lake lubbers,” as they like to call themselves. The lake features 10 miles of shoreline and six beautiful playgrounds, hundreds of picnic tables and hiking and biking trails.

In Edgerton, Ohio they love their Bulldog football team, which is on its way to another winning record. Small town America is in love with its athletic programs and Edgerton is no exception. “Behind the Mike” has appeared in the Edgerton Earth, which dates back to 1878.

In Lamont, California “Behind the Mike” appears periodically in the Arvin Tiller in Kern County. Like so many of our weekly publications, Arvin is a community agriculturally driven but they also love their Arvin High School Bears. Arvin is 15 miles southeast of Bakersfield.

And then there is the Sandoval Signpost, which serves the community of Placitas, New Mexico, so close to everything and yet so far away. Folks in Placitas love their artists. “Behind the Mike” has a presence in beautiful Sandoval County.

And let’s not forget the Miner County Pioneer, which services the community of Howard, South Dakota where “Behind the Mike” appears from time to time. One of my goals in life is to hit the road when I retire from all my other business activities and visit every community where my column appears throughout north America.

At the risk of offending hundreds of other newspapers and periodicals where our weekly blab is posted, suffice it to say that weekly publications that focus on a community are as vital to that community as the schools, churches and other institutions that make up those small towns. It’s great to be a part of their culture.