From The Apopka Voice Staff
In Summary:
The Apopka Voice is celebrating its 10th anniversary, having published 17,442 articles focused on local news, elections, and community life. What began with coverage of the 2015 Apopka Christmas Parade quickly grew into comprehensive reporting on city government, schools, public safety, and civic engagement. As the publication enters its second decade, its mission remains centered on connecting neighbors and telling Apopka’s story with integrity and care.
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“Good morning, Apopka. Welcome to The Apopka Voice.”
Those are the first words we used to introduce ourselves on December 15th, 2015. And now, 10 years and 17,442 articles later, we look forward to another decade of telling the story of Apopka.
It all started with a parade.
Yes, the 2015 Apopka Christmas Parade was the first news event The Apopka Voice covered. Not exactly an All the President’s Men moment, but we were excited to launch our site all the same.
The next 100 days were a whirlwind of political and city news leading up to the 2016 elections. In the years since, we’ve covered 12 general elections and three special elections.
But elections were only the beginning.
Over the past decade, The Apopka Voice has been there for grand openings and groundbreakings, hurricanes, tough interviews, debates, and a pandemic. We covered ribbon cuttings and community celebrations. We’ve reported on the Apopka City Council, the Orange County School Board, public safety, housing challenges, and economic growth. We’ve shared stories of small businesses, nonprofits, athletes, artists, students, veterans, and volunteers who quietly make Apopka a better place to live.
We’ve also grown alongside the city.
What began as a startup hyperlocal news site has evolved into a trusted source, averaging over 50,000 unique visits per month. In an era when local news outlets across the country are disappearing, The Apopka Voice has continued telling the city's story because that's exactly what Apopka needs. What started as a community-focused online news site has grown into a daily conversation between neighbors — one rooted in transparency and accountability.
We expanded our reach beyond the news site to the community's daily social media conversations, through platforms like
Facebook, where we have over 9,000 followers, but also on
X,
Instagram,
Blue Sky, and most recently
Threads, where we share breaking news, community updates, event information, and stories that matter to Apopka residents—often in real time. Social media allows us to engage directly with readers, highlight local voices, and extend the life of our reporting, creating a two-way connection that keeps the community informed, involved, and connected.
But we also want to serve Apopka in ways that go beyond reporting the news.
Since 2021, we’ve made it a priority to stand alongside Apopka’s nonprofit organizations that work every day to serve our community. We offer free press releases, have an
Apopka's Shares page where they can
submit news on their work along other Apopka good news stories, and we choose four nonprofits each year to provide a quarter's worth of free advertising. To date we have been blessed to help over 16 of these local organizations and look forward to continuing to link arms in this way. These groups operate where the needs are most significant, and we recognize that meaningful progress happens when individuals, organizations, and businesses come together with a shared purpose.
Also in 2021, we introduced our
internship program, which has continued every year since. Working with these college students has been one of the most rewarding parts of what we do as each one brings genuine curiosity, creative thinking, and a strong desire to learn hands-on, real-world skills. Their professionalism, reporting instincts, and fresh perspectives elevate our work, and they’ve turned team meetings into something we enjoy even more. We’re grateful to the colleges and universities that partner with us, but our greatest thanks and admiration belong to the 26 outstanding students past and present who make the program such a success.
As we look ahead to the next decade, our commitment remains the same: to tell Apopka’s story with fairness, integrity, and heart.
Thank you for reading.
Thank you for trusting us.
And as always — good morning, Apopka.
Key Facts:
- The Apopka Voice launched in December 2015 with coverage of the Apopka Christmas Parade.
- The publication has produced 17,442 articles over the past decade.
- Reporters have covered 12 general and special elections, including two runoffs.
- The outlet has documented significant moments in city government, education, business, and community life.
- The next decade will continue the commitment to local, community-focused journalism.
