The farewell, Part 1
Well, I was going to wait until the May 25 edition of the Greene County Messenger to make a big announcement, but honestly, I cannot think of anything else more personally important to write about right this very minute than what my announcement pertains to.
And I also felt that my announcement is something so huge and so personal for me that I probably wouldn’t be able to say what I want to say in just one column. So, consider this the first part of a trilogy of columns that are probably going to be the most emotional ones I’ve ever written.
Let me first get the announcement out of the way: May 25 will officially be my last day of serving as managing editor for the Greene County Messenger. After 14 consecutive years and five additional years in the 1990s proudly working for this news publication, I have decided to step down and pursue another chapter in my life.
I won’t go into detail here – at least not yet – about what the future holds for me, but I will say that this has been an exciting and yet terribly emotional time in my life. Exciting, because I believe God has created a plan for me to continue my passion for writing in another realm, and yet I have been overcome with many emotions as I reflect on the incredible number of wonderful people that I have met over the years in my career as the GCM editor.
While writing this column, I valiantly tried to recollect how many stories I have written over the past nearly two decades about the people who have been inspiring and deserving of spotlights, but I quickly gave up because the number is unbelievable.
I tried to recall how many times I cried while interviewing the people who had amazing stories to tell and how many more times I cried while writing their stories, but I quickly gave that up too, because I just cannot count that high.
I tried to reflect on how many “Thank You”s I’ve received over the years, through phone calls, letters, emails and visits to my office for simply sharing those awesome stories, but, again, it all became a blur.
And I tried to remember how many hugs I’ve given to or received from people who I wrote about, and how many great, long-lasting friendships were created through my job … and yeah, you guessed it, I lost count.
This has been more, much more, than just a job to me. This has been an amazing, emotional roller-coaster ride, filled with heartbreaking lows – every time I had to cover an awful tragedy – and heartwarming highs – every time I got the opportunity to meet someone special who had a great story to tell – and I have greatly cherished the ride.
And it isn’t just the people I’ve written about and the special events that I’ve covered that made my job so special. It was also the many, many folks who I have had the pleasure of working with over the years.
I have jokingly referred to myself as the “GCM Grandpa” who has watched writers, photographers and other staff members start their careers here at a younger age and move on to other things – careers and families – and felt a sense of pride knowing that I had the honor of working with them.
(I would name them, but honestly, the list is far too long and with my aging memory I might forget a name or two so I don’t want to cause any problems. But just know that if you ever worked with me, you were greatly appreciated by me and I am blessed to have had the opportunities to not only share the workspace but also forge good friendships with you.)
I thank Dan Morris Sr. and the late Jim Moore, who first brought me on board as GCM editor in the mid-90s, who took a chance on a young guy with little experience to serve at the helm of the weekly paper and who trusted me to learn through growing pains and help me become a better writer and employee.
I also thank Dan Morris Jr. (and in fact, the entire Morris family, including Barb and Kelley) for putting up with my nonsense back in the day and yet still treated me with respect and not only fought with me in the trenches but also became good friends.
And to the many people from the Herald-Standard and the GCM’s previous and current owners, who I had the honor of working with when I returned to the GCM in 2004 … I am forever grateful for the time spent working with you and learning from you, and grateful that you trusted me to do the best job I possibly could as managing editor.
(I know I shouldn’t name names here for the reasons I mentioned earlier, but I cannot continue without mentioning a few of my “heroes” from the Herald who was so beneficial to my career, including Mark O’Keefe, Val Laub, Jen Garofalo, Carla DeStefano, Taz and Fran Zajac and Bob Pinarski … and last but certainly not least, Mike Palm, my supervisor, who never wavered in his faith in the Messenger. You all will never know how much I truly appreciate you.)
But truthfully, my fondness and warmth for this job and paper really goes back to you. The readers. The local folks of all ages who have touched my heart over the years with your inspiring stories of hope, of compassion, of integrity and love for your fellow man, woman and child.
Not to brag, but I have won many awards over the years for my writing … but every time I accepted those awards I simply felt that I wished I could give them all to you, the ones who I wrote about, because you deserve them. All I did was tell your story, but you were the ones who lived them and thankfully had the trust to share them with me.
I will have much more to say about my tenure as GCM managing editor in my next – and final – two columns, including thoughts about my family, my forged friendships with so many special people, my biggest memories and my awesome working relationships with my current co-workers, especially the GCM office manager.
Stay tuned…