2003 was a great year in the Fray. We marked our seventh year online with our first-ever redesign and a new Storyblog section for linking to the greater world of stories online. The year saw 11 new feature stories, including two special group stories with 8-10 stories included, from many new contributors. We also saw over 1,200 posted stories this year from storytellers like you.

This year was also a banner year for Fray events. Our 7th annual Fray Day came to 13 countries in October – the most simultaneous Fray events ever. We also had three Fray Cafes (March in Austin, June in Sedona, and November in Cardiff, Wales). Thousands of people participated in true, live storytelling events, thanks to a worldwide network of volunteer organizers.

To support all these events, we released two new products: A Fray Day 7 T-Shirt and a Fray Cafe 3 CD. And hey, they're still for sale!

We also started the process of incorporating as a nonprofit, thanks to the efforts of our attorney Mike Wasylik, who also happens to appear on the Fray Cafe 3 CD. We're working on finishing the process now, and it's my hope that by next year we'll officially be a 501c3 nonprofit corporation.

And that's really the theme for me this year: Hope. Here's hoping your 2003 was wonderful, and your 2004 will be even better.

– Derek

How was your 2003?