Some of you may already have heard the news — I have no idea, I just know that word spreads, and Matt Gengler had some really nice things to say about me in his column last week.
But for the record: I recently submitted my resignation as associate editor of the Harrison County Times-Reporter. My last day will be May 16, but you will see my byline in the May 21 paper.
A particular opportunity came up that was too good and too close to my heart for me to pass up. I will be able to work remotely from Omaha, while also having some opportunities for travel. If you would like to learn more about what I will be doing, feel free to reach out to me personally. I won't use up space on it here.
What I will use space on is the appreciation I have for Harrison County and what a great first full-time job this was for a kid fresh out of college. It’s true — you rarely stick with your first full-time job forever. That’s why you guys are so lucky to have Matt!
I started here in the fall of 2022, and from that time until now I have seen several groups and individuals who are invested in the growth and ensuring the stability of their respective communities. Each town within the county has a commendable group of people who are highly invested. Quite often, those folks are the ones I ended up talking to for various stories related to progress and growth.
I'm not going to play the game of naming everyone and then accidentally leave someone out. You all know who they are.
While I will no longer be employed by the newspaper, I plan to keep up on what’s going on. The investment of those groups and individuals has inspired me to be invested as well. I look forward to hearing about ribbon cuttings and school events, and I'll still pop over for a bite to eat or to check out the fair — just not as a newspaperman.
Most importantly, I would like to encourage you all to continue to support local journalism. With the Missouri Valley Times-News and Dunlap Reporter recently combining to create the Harrison County Times-Reporter, the staff in place will need your buy-in and help to continue to make the newspaper a proud source of reliable news for the community.
If you have something going on in your community that you'd like to spread the word about, stop in and chat, call or send an email. More often than not, there will be some way to get it in the paper, even if it simply gets added to the community calendar.
Matt, Carrie, Echo, Robin and Paul will continue to serve you to the best of their abilities. Just be nice and don't act crazy!
Eventually, my replacement will also be around to help. He or she might even be better than me. I hope the person is — it would be very humbling if you all just forgot about me. But I certainly won’t forget about all the wonderful people I have met.
I'm looking forward to this next chapter, although it is bittersweet. I sincerely wish everyone the best, and I hope to see some of you around — I just won’t have a notepad and camera the next time we meet.
Signing off. Thanks again, Harrison County.
