Hi, my name is Susan Jenkins and I'm the editor of the Greater Annapolis Patch. I am excited to introduce you to Patch as this is our first site in Anne Arundel County. My job is getting easier as word spreads and Patch expands across the country. People understand (and love) the concept that we'll be covering local news, events, businesses, schools, government and sports.

Patch is hyperlocal and I think the best way to explain what that means is to tell you how we plan to cover Annapolis. There will be two Patch sites: Greater Annapolis and Historic Annapolis — not just the historic district but everything within the city limits to include downtown, uptown and Eastport. The second Annapolis site will launch this fall.

Greater Annapolis Patch will cover the areas that are Annapolis, just not within the city boundaries. These include the neighborhoods of Parole, Epping Forest, Sherwood Forest, Rolling Knolls, Southaven, Heritage Harbour, Hillsmere and Bay Ridge. We'll also cover everything in between Riva and Bestgate roads and Generals and Defense highways.

Sign up to be a Patch user and you can add your own photos and announcements or leave us comments on stories. If you are a business owner, you can claim your directory listing to connect with Patch users (and it's free). We want the site to be interactive so we need your participation. I'm open to hearing what you think about the site, what you'd like to see, and any story ideas you may have.

You can contact me anytime via email at susan@patch.com, become a fan of the Greater Annapolis Patch on Facebook and follow me on Twitter @GreatAnnapPatch.

It's great to be in downtown Annapolis but it's greater to be in the suburbs where you have it all: a short drive to the most beautiful city in the world, shopping galore, and a garage so you don't have to deal with street parking.