Dec 2023. Blues Vol 39 No. 12

A New Beginning
In 2019, The BLUES would have
been 35 years old. I received
a phone call one afternoon
from a friend that hosted a
local morning show on TV. She
wanted to do a story about The
BLUES Police Newspaper and
it’s upcoming 35th Anniversary.
Well, I hadn’t
talked to Buddy Williams
in years and had no idea
where he was living or
what his number was. I
told her I’d have to get
back to her once I found
him. But after searching
high and low, I didn’t find
Buddy, but I did find a
copy of the August 2018
issue of The BLUES Police
Newspaper, and it was
tagged “Final Issue.”
I downloaded it and
read it cover to cover
with tears in eyes. I
couldn’t believe a 35-
year tradition had gone
silently into the night
without so much as a
whimper. I can’t blame Buddy
or his daughter for wrapping
it up after 22 years. They did a
fantastic job all those years and
the age of printed publications
was quickly fading. So that was
that. The BLUES had one amazing
ride and now it was over. Or
was it.
For the next few days, I
couldn’t stop thinking about
all the accomplishments the
newspaper had made over the
years and was it even possible
to bring it back. Certainly not
as anything printed, but Digital
publications were the rage,
and that possibility was real.
So, I reached out to my buddy
Rex Evans and ran the idea
past him, and he thought it
was great idea. One thing led
to another and on December
20, 2019, almost 35 years to
the date of the original
County Blues, the new
BLUES was published online
and the rest as they
say, is history,
In the past four years,
The BLUES has grown
from 60 pages to over
250. Our circulation has
exploded from less than
5,000 in that first issue to
over 1.5 million a month
in 2023. The BLUES is now
read all over the world. In
fact, The BLUES is one of
the oldest police magazine
still in existence and
has gained the reputation
of being the Largest
Police Magazine in the
World.
We hope you’ve enjoyed
our trip down memory
lane and look forward to serving
law enforcement for many
years to come. God Bless you
all and Be Safe Out There.
98 The BLUES Blues 40th 40th Anniversary Issue Issue