What are you supposed to say when you are expected to say goodbye to something you very much wish to hold onto?
In 2022, I posed that question as part of my farewell column. On Monday, I finally learned how to respond – ‘See you soon.’
After nearly four years working in broadcast television, I returned home to Corbin and The News Journal on Monday.
This will be my third time working at the newspaper. You know what they say, third time is the charm.
If not for my experiences here as both an intern and a reporter, I would not be the journalist I am today. This community is where I learned to tell stories and made connections that have spanned the years.
I credit much of my success to the staff that is here. Managing News Editor Mark White, Office Manager Linda Carpenter, Circulation Manager Jennifer Benfield and Advertising Manager Melissa Hudson all played integral roles in my time here as an intern and as a reporter. They taught me what it means to serve the community. They are the reason this newspaper has had such long-running success, and I am grateful for the opportunity to return and work alongside them once again.
There are others who have stepped away from the business that have contributed heavily to both the paper and my professional success like former publishers Trent Knuckles, Don Estep and Trevor Sherman. In that respective order, they brought me onto The News Journal’s staff. Former bookkeeper Teresa Brooks taught me more about Photoshop® than I ever thought I could learn. Former reporter Dean Manning was the first person I shadowed as an intern. He seemed to know everyone; he never met a stranger. Every time I rode with him to a story, I met someone new.
I am more grateful to the staff here, both current and former, than I could ever put into words.
There are several other groups of people that I want to thank. First is God and my family. It took a lot of prayers to make it through the last several years. I knew when I left in 2022, I was going where I was called. In the farewell column I mentioned earlier, I wrote about the 12 things that aligned to make that job possible. I could write about another dozen things that had to align for this opportunity to come to fruition. God’s hand was evident in every step.
The second is my WYMT Mountain Family. People like Neil Middleton, Brandon Robinson, Brian Milam, Steve Hensley, and so many others took me under their wings to teach and encourage me. These same folks are who taught me how to lead and work in management. I will be forever grateful for the community and support they created for me while I worked in Hazard.
The final group I want to mention includes you. Thank you for trusting me to tell your stories. Whether I was here in the tri-counties or in Hazard, I knew that I could call on people in this region. You are the reason that I continue choosing to be a journalist. You are the reason that I am so excited to return home.
