Chronicling the achievements of people in our readership area is one of this newspaper’s most important responsibilities.

You — our readers, subscribers, advertisers, neighbors, friends and family — are our lifeblood. Without you, this newspaper would not exist

Pictures of people are, and should be, a vital part of our existence in this community. We publish photos of club meetings, events, fundraisers, engagements, reunions, school functions, sporting events and news-related incidents.

It’s a matter of respect and an ethical measure that we publish the names of all those who are identififable in a photo.

When we publish photos of suspects involved in alleged crimes or students who have excelled in scholastic activities, we owe it to both them and our readers to identify these people.

Why, you may ask, should we identify people in a photo taken by The Herald or submitted by a school, chamber of commerce or other entity?

The fact is that when we publish a photo without names, only a handful of people will know who the persons are. But when we add the names, they’re easily identifiable.

They’ll be identifiable for parents and relatives of students who scored a perfect SOL score, who may put the photo in a scrapbook or in the family Bible.

The names we work hard to get will help the researcher 100 years from now who is looking for a relative who fought for our country who was pictured with her returning regiment to Farmville or her great-grandfather who was a member of the Lions Club.

We owe it to the good people of the Heart of Virginia to include names with all photos we print.