Please allow me to introduce myself...

For all of you who live and work and play in Palmer and Forks townships, it is with great pleasure that I've been given this fantastic opportunity to serve as the eyes and ears of these communities.

I'm Dino Ciliberti, the new editor of the Palmer/Forks Patch.com site, new because this position became full time for me just recently.

But really, I've been around these blocks for a little while now.

For nearly two years, I've lived in Forks Township, in a townhome at the cross sections of Mitman and Zucksville roads.

For the past dozen years, I've been a frequent visitor to this region since my parents have lived on Sycamore Avenue in Forks and my sister around the corner from them near Forks Community Park.

And, for the past year, I've worked as a guest editor and freelance writer for this patch.com site and the numerous others dotted throughout the Lehigh Valley.

My wife Tammy works from our home here and my son Joshua attends Shawnee Elementary School, where he'll start fourth grade next year.

So Who Am I?

Well, I'm basically one of you.

I play basketball and tennis with Joshua at the park, take walks with my wife around it, do banking right up the street, frequent the Palmer community pool during the summer and the Palmer Park Mall and seem to spend lots of time at the Giant food center.

You'll see me at Weis, at Salvatore's or Catanzareti's grabbing a slice of pizza, ordering Chinese takeout from Beijing, at Rita's and Walgreens and lots of other spots along Sullivan Trail.

I'm also attending meetings for the Board of Supervisors for Palmer and Forks townships and covering various community events. I've gotten to know a lot of people so far.

These are great towns. And like other towns, there are certainly issues. But there are also great people with great stories to share.

So we'll start sharing stories with this column. I'm hoping to write one once a week on various local and personal topics that I'm sure all of you can relate to as people who have jobs, families, kids and busy lives.

Let's get to know each other. Drop by and see me to say hello or chat at any of the spots I'll be hanging out either on the job or on my own in Palmer and Forks.

I'm a big fan of music, mainly classic rock, and root for all of the Philadelphia sports teams. I'm sure we'll have lots in common.

We're going to be doing a lot of work with this site and I appreciate all the feedback you can offer me. So don't hesitate to reach out.

You can get me on here by leaving a comment on a story. You can call my cell phone at 484-661-9686 or drop me a note at dino.ciliberti@patch.com.
And please comment on my tweets and Facebook posts too. I'll be doing them shortly.

You can also probably find me wandering around the towns, with some sort of green Patch.com insignia or often, especially on weekends, wearing a baseball cap.

Thanks for letting me say hello. I can't wait to get to know all of you.