Welcome to Phoenixville Patch

My love of Phoenixville was sealed with a couch. I'd been living in the borough for a year and a half, and liked the small town feel and friendly atmosphere. People said hi to me on the street. I was welcome to pet strangers' dogs as they trotted by with their owners on the streets. But the friendliness was truly proven with that couch.

After acquiring a white cat, cleaning the fur off my black couch was the final straw in my beefs with that particular piece of furniture. I aimed to get a new one, but on a struggling writer's budget, couldn't hop over to the furniture store to pick out something new. I eyed curbs and thrift shops instead. On the way home from work one day, I spotted the perfect couch. It was a curb couch – this was before the bedbug epidemic – and it was only four blocks from my apartment. I called up a friend and we set out to carry the sucker to my door.

My small stature and spaghetti arms proved no match. After hauling the couch a block, I nearly collapsed. Summoning strength in a dark alley (it's always better to take curb couches at night, I've found), we made it a few more feet. Stuck with a couch in an alley is no way to live.

Then, a truck pulled up. The occupant saw our dilemma and offered to help, despite the late hour and obvious strangeness of the situation. Smiling, he helped load the behemoth on the back, and drove us the few blocks down to my apartment. He assured us it was no problem, just something you'd do for a neighbor.

Now, I get to cover the town I love. Over the past few weeks, I've snapped pictures on Bridge Street. I've cautiously nosed my car across the one-lane covered bridge in East Pikeland. I've sat in on school board meetings and drank everything on the menu at .

I'm your new Patch editor, and it's my hope this website will provide you with all the community events, sports happenings, hard news coverage and municipal goings-on in the Phoenixville area. If I miss something, let me know. The beauty of Phoenixville.Patch.com lies in the limitless nature of the web.

I moved to Phoenixville after school, then headed to King of Prussia because of my former commute. Now, I'm excited to spend my days in your town, and I'll be apartment hunting in the Phoenixville in a few months. What's not to love about a town that burns a giant wooden bird, partakes in goat races and pays homage to The Blob?

The area has a lot going on, and before this site launched, I had the chance to talk to a few members of the community. When asked what makes the town great, each offered the same answer – it's the people. The people of the Phoenixville area are teeming with opinions, ideas and a sense of community. Look at all the services in town set up to make the community better, from to to , which takes in wounded birds of prey.

I love this area and I want to be part of it. Patch.com has a Give 5 program dedicated to volunteering and volunteer organizations, so I'll be spending time working in the community alongside other volunteers. Additionally, I strive to be accessible, and you can contact me in many ways. My cell phone number is 610-209-5216, my e-mail is lynn.jusinski@patch.com and you can even find me on Facebook and Twitter.

Now to the fun features. Looking for a good place to volunteer? This site offers plenty, and you can add your own volunteer opportunities. Trying to find out when the next council meeting is? We have that, too, in our events listings. Curious about whether or not that restaurant downtown accepts credit cards? Check out our extensive Phoenixville directory and you can find that out.

Speaking of the directory, before this site launched, a team busily compiled listings on restaurants, service providers, government buildings and more to keep you informed. The directory serves as the backbone of our site, and business owners can claim and edit their listings and consumers can share opinions. We make a point to visit each place listed in the directory and we strive for accuracy, so if something is amiss, contact me and we'll sort it out.

Phoenixville, thank you for having me. I look forward to meeting you, and I hope Phoenixville.Patch.com serves you well.