On Friday afternoon, a large sigh was heard inside our newspaper’s building.

After literally months and month of work, our annual yearbook of the community, Profile 2008 arrived in our building.

Since we began putting a thicker, glossy cover on Profile a few years ago, the final stages of putting all the sections together and stapling them has to be done out of town.

So we ship the parts off and wait for the final product to return.

Profile is so big our cargo van couldn’t hold them all so we had to rent a truck to deliver them.

At 144 pages, it’s the biggest section we’ve had in years, maybe ever.

And, with an admitted bias, I think it’s the best one we’ve ever done, mostly because it focuses so much on the people of our community.

The theme is “About Face: Looking Into the Mirror of Our Community.”

Profile is truly a labor of love for our staff. The entire staff is listed on page 129 of the Profile section, along with a few snapshots from events in which we’ve participated.

Profile is always a reflection of our community; this year the reflection is literal at times.

Just as a community is made up of lots of individual parts that make a great whole, Profile’s individual stories, photographs and advertisements come together to make a great package, too.

Every person who works here deserves special thanks for the hard work and love they’ve put into making Profile take flight this year.

My hat is off to them for their hard work.

But Profile isn’t the only big thing in today’s edition.

We’re also including our annual Citizen of the Year honoree and this year’s Unsung Heroes.

Our 2008 Citizen of the Year is Logan Sewell.

The honor should come as a surprise to Sewell today. As always, our staff worked to keep the title a secret, from Sewell and others.

He was interviewed merely for a “feature story.”

Sewell is truly a gentleman whose heart is deeply tied to the Miss-Lou.

From countless projects he’s touched through his years serving in a number of civic leadership capacities, to his amazing knowledge of Jim Bowie, Sewell’s legacy is great.

Back in the days when I sat in the editor’s chair of this newspaper, I fondly recall on several occasions when Sewell called me to express an opinion over an issue facing the Miss-Lou.

He was always polite and courteous, but most impressive was that he always, always had what was best for the community at heart.

All who have ever come in contact with Sewell are lucky to have spent time with the man.

In a world in which tyrants often make headlines and leaders who often act based in part on egotistical motives, Sewell’s selflessness is rare and unique.

He’s truly deserving of the honor and our community owes him a great deal of gratitude for all that he’s done for us.

Thanks, Mr. Sewell. We’re glad you’re a part of the Miss-Lou.

And, thanks to all of our readers. We appreciate each of you because together, you make up the “face” of our community.

From what I see, the face looks pretty good as does the future.

Kevin Cooper is publisher of The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3539 or kevin.cooper@natchezdemocrat.com.