A few weeks ago, I used this space to explain and express the motivations behind my decision to accept a new job opportunity in Birmingham and leave LaGrange after two short years. 

In writing that column, I held onto the feeling that the weeks to come would move slowly and believed I would be able to savor my final days in this role before moving on to a new adventure. 

Now, seemingly in the blink of an eye, that final day has arrived. 

I do not want to plod over ground that has already been tread and rehash my reasoning for the move, but I do want to take second and simply, humbly, express my thanks to the LaGrange community once more. 

The last two years have been an incredible opportunity for personal and professional growth, and that is truly a testament to those people I have had the pleasure to work with and get to know. 

I will miss the work and those I have met as a byproduct of it. It is important work, and work that needs to continue to be supported by the community.

 I will miss those I have had the pleasure to call co-workers as well, but can rest easy knowing Daniel Evans will take the newspaper far. We have been fortunate enough in the last two years to make significant strides in the realm of editorial and advertising content, and I full expect that trend to continue under Daniel’s leadership.

In addition, I will deeply miss the friends I have been so fortunate to make. One of the true testaments to a man’s character is the company he keeps, and I have been immeasurably blessed to have been exposed to some of the best.  

To Allen and Mamie Crawford, thank you. Thank you for befriending two outsiders so freely, and for showing my wife and I how to walk through hard seasons well. To Nate and Allie Crawford, Kirk and Emily Slay, John and Christina Jackson, Bo and Allison Bradford, Justin and Carmen Slay, and a host of others, the impact you have had on my life and my wife’s cannot be overstated. You matter to us, and we count ourselves lucky to be able to call you dear friends. 

You have made this city feel like home, and we can’t thank you enough for that.

As the great philosopher Winnie the Pooh once said, “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” 

This rings true for me today very clearly. 

Thank you, all. This city and its people will never be far from my heart.  

Onward and upward.