FAIRHOPE — The staff of The Courier and Gulf Coast Newspapers took to the street Tuesday, meeting people and handing out free copies of the newly combined paper.

“We wanted to let as many people as possible know that we combined The Fairhope Courier and The Bulletin into one stronger paper to better serve the entire Eastern Shore,” said publisher Sudie Gambrell. “We asked people to tell us what they liked or wanted us to improve. The response was amazingly positive.”

Employees handed out nearly 1,000 free papers to people in Fairhope, Daphne and Spanish Fort, hitting both downtown businesses and local residents leaving Daphne’s and Fairhope’s Walmart.

“It worked so well, that we want to continue to get the word out to people,” said Gambrell. “So we are already planning on doing it again.”

The Courier will have a booth set up at this weekend’s Eastern Shore Art Center’s Grand Festival of Art. In addition to handing out copies of the weekend edition, staff will be on hand to explain the new coverage area as well as new features and sections of the paper.

While there are three distinct incorporated municipalities, the Eastern Shore is more a fluid transition from one community to another. The Courier will strive to not only cover Fairhope, Daphne and Spanish Fort, but also the Point Clear, Barnwell, Montrose, Malbis and Belforest communities.

“A resident will want to know about his or her community and will most likely also be interested in what is going on in the other Eastern Shore communities,” said Gambrell. “The interest levels for news and information along the Eastern Shore are high, and we want to provide a more comprehensive look at this area.”

Current subscribers to The Fairhope Courier and The Bulletin will now receive The Courier twice a week (Tuesdays and Fridays), giving them even more news and information than they have been receiving in the past.

Included in each issue of The Courier is the local sports section and classified ads. On Tuesdays, readers will see the People section, filled with news about and photos of Baldwin County people. Once a month, the third Friday of each month, we offer a new section titled Focus on Health, a pullout section focusing on medical issues and health tips.

New to The Courier is a pullout section, Arts and Entertainment. This section contains feature stories along with a comprehensive calendar that will guide readers to the plays, art showings, book readings, musical performances, creative workshops and other offerings of interest in this area.

The paper looks forward to feedback regarding the merger and invites suggestions for making it even better. Readers can provie feedback by mail at 325 Fairhope Avenue, Fairhope, AL 36532. The telephone number is 251-928-2321.