As some of you might have heard, I am leaving the Express papers to become the editor of the Duxbury Clipper.

It’s a bittersweet moment for me.  Taking over the Clipper is an honor, as it is the company’s flagship paper and I will be only the third editor in the paper’s 50-plus year history.  I’m excited for the opportunity and proud that the Cutler family would trust me with such a great responsibility.

But I’m also leaving the newspaper that helped me break into journalism, where I learned the ropes of reporting and editing.  Working for the Express was basically my first job out of college.  I was working at my father’s law office just to pay bills, and I was taking freelance assignments at night for a number of different papers.  It was more dabbling than anything else — I studied creative writing and theater in college and was thinking about either a PR job or returning to school to get an MFA.  When Express Publisher Josh Cutler started the Whitman paper, he needed a regular freelancer to cover the Hanson Board of Selectmen.

That’s when it all started.  I was fascinated by the workings of town government, the passionate discussions, the people and the stories they had to tell.  I went from stringer to part-time reporter; from there to full-time reporter, news editor and finally editor.  As I grew as a journalist, the papers grew with me, adding features, growing in pages, changing from broadsheet to tabloid and expanding into East Bridgewater and Pembroke.

During my “coffee with the editor” sessions and other community experiences like reading to schoolchildren or moderating  election debates, I got to interact with people face-to-face rather than over the phone or through e-mail. That’s when I really got to see what a great community this is.

I also realized what an amazing situation I’d fallen into.  In a time where print journalism isn’t as valued as it used to be, and in a time where mega-corporations have watered down the newspaper products in Massachusetts to an absurd degree, I’d joined a company that truly believed in journalism for journalism’s sake.  Where the number one priority wasn’t the dollar, but being the newspaper of record for the town.  I was proud to be a reporter here.  I felt like what I was doing was a vital part of the community, we got information to people who couldn’t get to meetings, we encouraged discussion of important issues and highlighted the accomplishments of people who made the community a better place to live.

I covered stories that ranged from tragic to triumphant — from the Maura Murray story and the treasurer/collector mess in Whitman to the Town Hall centennial celebration in Whitman and the building of a new police station in Hanson.  There are stories, big and small, that I’ll always remember being a part of.

But my memories of Hanson and Whitman are about more than meetings and numbers.  What matters in my work are people.  I worked with some amazing folks during my tenure.  From crazy characters to volunteers whose strength and dedication I admired, to public officials who made time for me no matter how busy they were, I thoroughly enjoyed working with the people of Whitman and Hanson. 

During my “coffee with the editor” sessions and other community experiences like reading to schoolchildren or moderating  election debates, I got to interact with people face-to-face rather than over the phone or through e-mail. That’s when I really got to see what a great community this is.

Most importantly, I never felt like an outsider or just a jerk with a notebook and a camera who was held at arms length while he documented the proceedings.  I always felt like a part of the community.  I always felt welcomed wherever I went.  And for that, thank you.