Covering more than 430 square miles, Suffolk is Virginia’s largest city, and the changes to its landscape, construction, development, traffic and infrastructure have provided proof in recent years that the city also is one of the fastest growing in Virginia.

During the past 10 years, Suffolk has gone from a population of just 63,000 to nearly 90,000. During the past 10 years, Suffolk has seen retail development grow by millions of square feet, with much more on the way. And even with the best efforts to document the actual numbers, at the rate of growth we’ve experienced in the past decade, today’s numbers will be useless tomorrow.

This growth has not occurred by accident. Suffolk’s growth can be attributed to a number of civic, business and community leaders who had the foresight to provide a fertile base for such development.

Their decisions in the late 1990s – or even earlier – brought about the Suffolk we see today and the Suffolk we will all see in a few years.

We should celebrate these people as we move ahead into a new decade.

Beginning in January, the Suffolk News-Herald will feature 10 people who have helped shape today’s Suffolk. These leaders of business, pillars of the community and civic-advocates have wanted to shape Suffolk for the better.

But before we launch this project, we seek your help, your input into the 10 people we should feature.

We want to know whom you credit with today’s successful Suffolk and whom you believe are the key people putting Suffolk in a perfect position to grow further.

All we ask is that you provide us a name and the reason why your suggested person should be featured.

After we have received your suggestions and read through your thoughts, we will then do our best to tell their stories and honor their commitment to our community.

The chance to celebrate the passing of a decade and those who made it what it was only comes around every 10 years. With your help, our series of articles will be much better.

You can contact us by email, phone or by letter, but we ask that you do so by Jan. 6. Email your comments to news@suffolknewsherald.com or mail them to Suffolk News-Herald, Attn: Editor, 130 S. Saratoga Street, Suffolk, Va. 23434. You can also contact our newsroom by calling 539-3437.

As we have said many times, this is your newspaper Suffolk, and we are asking for your help to honor those who have helped Suffolk become the growing city it is today.