A slightly silver glow may be shining from the pages of the Comox Valley Record, as the newspaper is celebrating a major milestone — its 25th anniversary.On March 26, 1986, the very first issue of the then-titled Courtenay Comox Valley Record hit newsstands, marking a daring venture on the part of David Black's Island Publishers Ltd, said Grant Lawrence, publisher of the newspaper for more than 15 years."The paper came into the Courtenay/Comox area and was a new community newspaper, going up against the Bickle family (owners of the Comox District Free Press) who had more than 100 years in the publishing industry," he noted. "The Record set up shop, providing the community with not only a second community newspaper, but as a free total-market newspaper."The newspaper began as a weekly broadsheet paper, publishing on Wednesdays and quickly increasing publication in 1989 as a twice-weekly paper, changing its name to the current Comox Valley Record.At the same time, a switch to tabloid format made it easier to read and a more distinct entity on local newsstands.In its early years, the Record was written in Courtenay, with the editor and advertising manager then travelling to Duncan to have the issue typeset and pasted up. As the newspaper grew, all in-house advertising, editorial and page production was done in Courtenay.The paper's first office was on Cumberland Road, then moving to two different buildings on Cliffe Avenue, each increasingly larger to accommodate staff growth, parking and technological updates. The Record celebrated its 12th anniversary in 1998 by moving into its current location at 765 McPhee Ave., a building commissioned by the company.One major event for the Comox Valley Record was the labour dispute and subsequent closure of the Comox District Free Press following its purchase in 1989 by Thomson Corporation."The closure doubled the size of the Record. It was somewhat unexpected and an initial scramble because of resources at the time — all of the production for the paper was done on site," said Lawrence. "We were still doing cut-and-paste production, as computers were just coming into their own."As the circulation grew, so did technology. Lawrence noted as production eased with the advancement of computers, the availability to produce colour for advertising and editorial — once a complicated process — was quickly becoming more prominent.In addition to the increase in colour production, Lawrence says the biggest change to the industry came within the past 15 to 20 years."In one of the oldest industries in the world with the printing press, there has been just been an amazing advance created through technology. What once was a very labour-intensive process to produce a newspaper has now changed with computers," he added. "With new media and our online presence, there's even more changes."Lawrence credits the success of the paper to the team of staff at the paper, from editorial, front office, advertising, production, circulation and its 12 delivery drivers and 180 carriers."The Record is one of the largest community newspapers on the Island and within Black Press newspapers in B.C. It's a challenging distribution area because there's a large urban and rural mix. It all comes together and the end result is a newspaper on the doorstep."Current publisher Joanna Ross adds, "We have an incredible team at the Record. Many of our employees have worked upwards of 15 years at the paper. Their dedication to ensuring that our readers and advertisers receive first-class service and an award-winning product is paramount."The Comox Valley Record has a long history of excellence, reflected in annual newspaper awards.Last year, for example, we finished first in general excellence in our circulation category at the Ma Murray Awards, presented by the B.C. and Yukon Community Newspaper Association.This year, the Record is a finalist for a best front page national award, as presented by the Canadian Community Newspaper Association. We also received a blue ribbon, which is basically a general excellence honourable mention.CCNA awards will be presented April 30 at the River Rock Casino and Resort in Richmond.• • •To recognize the 25th anniversary, we have made some changes to the Record, beginning today. You've already noticed our new-look front page, but there's more.Our A Look Back in history column now goes back 25 years, and we’re reinstating a historical photo each week, courtesy of the Courtenay and District Museum, to go with the look back through the years. Today’s issue also features the return of the popular Valley People feature.photos@comoxvalleyrecord.com