The Sun is now 15 years old.

Excuse me? Say what?

That's gotta be a typo.

Wait just a second......

OK, I've now pinched myself to the point of bruising to snap out of it and wake up.

Not really working. Disbelief and denial seem to be the order of the day.

But there it is. Fifteen years and counting, as the headline reads. When I first got the crazy notion to start my own newspaper, I was working for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, commuting to the Island each day. It was a good job and I worked alongside some of the best and brightest minds I'd ever met. But I had been working for media corporations since 1978 as a reporter and editor and I knew I wanted to branch out on my own.

It was a huge decision. I had a family to consider and I would be leaving the security a full-time job affords. Ditto the paycheck and benefits that went along with it. I weighed the risks and rewards constantly and talked about it incessantly with my wife, Maggie. After listening to me debate with myself for what I'm sure seemed like an eternity, she finally could take it no more.

"Start the damn paper or shut the bleep up."

Given those options I had no choice but to start the paper.

That was in 1998. Roughly 18 months of market research, preparation and planning later, we launched The Sun in September of 2000. Some thought the idea absurd, given the entrenched competition and the inherent risks involved in starting a new business. The Island's history was, after all, littered with failed attempts to open other weekly newspapers.

But here we are, going into our 16th year of publication and our 18th year of incorporation. None of it would have been possible without the incredible staff we've had through the years, several of whom have been with us since day one. I have never met better people. Thank you, too, to all of our readers and advertisers. Without them, there is no Sun.

This truly has been a wonderful adventure and I look forward to bringing you The Sun for many years to come.

Mike Field