Libby Cherin, president of the Fremont Community Foundation on the west side of Michigan, wrote last week to tell us she gains "more perspective (and hope?)" from the Center for Michigan's weekly Fresh Thoughts for Michigan's Transformation e-newsletter "than anywhere else."

Now those fresh thoughts are a bit more colorful. You may have noticed our new newsletter format. We designed it to be a quicker read with a few bright images volunteered by statewide photographers who capture the beauty of our state.

As we've told you many times, 'Fresh Thoughts' is a community product, built with the contributions of local reports, studies and other insights from readers' own communities.

If, like Libby, you gain valuable perspective from the newsletter each week, please pass it on. In fact, we request that you forward this week's newsletter to ten of your personal contacts. Help us spread the dialogue about Michigan's future. Encourage them to sign up here.

This single act of passing it on is a tremendous help to our work!

Oh, one more thing... Passing it on is easy. Just click on the "forward email" link at the bottom of the newsletter.