Hey, that’s no way to say goodbye.
I hadn’t planned to write a goodbye column. I’d thought I’d done what nearly every journalist aspires: to slip out the door with as little fanfare as possible. But I realized I had more to say and the best way that I know how to say things is to write them down.
A little over 13 years ago I walked into the News Bulletin as a junior reporter with fewer than two years’ experience under my notebook. The techs hadn’t installed my phone, so I worked on my first stories in the boardroom. My second day I attended a school board meeting in which trustees debated whether to close up to four schools. I covered trials in which men were sentenced for murder; witnessed protests in the park; and paddled around Newcastle Island in a kayak. One editor even sent me pole dancing.
After a couple of years I took over covering arts and entertainment, which introduced me to the most caring, committed and eclectic community in Nanaimo. It’s also where I found my tribe and I was treated much like a friend as I told their stories through the News Bulletin’s pages. I also collected my most awkward interview stories, such as yelling into the phone at a 96-year-old (and nearly completely deaf) original Delta blues player; having no idea that the rock band Monster Truck employed a keyboard player; or explaining to the newsroom that it was Bubbles from Trailer Park Boys that I was asking about launching kittens into space.
Five years ago, I moved into an office and saw my name on the top of the masthead. Managing this team of lovable misfits has made me feel like a proud parent on more occasions than I can count. Their dedication to this community and its people is unparalleled. We’ve covered the elation and disappointment of elections and the devastation of shootings, murders and fires. They sacrifice their personal lives to take that one last call at the end of the day, to add just one more paragraph to the story to provide context, understanding and analysis. Your community paper is in good hands; I wouldn’t be leaving it otherwise.
Last fall, I graduated from Royal Roads University with a master’s degree in professional communication and it’s that second career I’ll be pursuing. After 15 year in print and digital news media, I’m ready for new challenges. At the end of the day, the shootings, trials and politics are wearing on one’s soul and it becomes clear that new enthusiasm is needed at the helm of this ship.
You will continue to see me at concerts and events around the city, haunting downtown bookstores and coffeeshops, and carting my colourful basket around farmers’ markets. Nanaimo, and the Island, has become my home; I’m thankful to be embarking on a new career without having to leave this community.
I’m also thankful to you, the readers. You help us make this paper represent the community by sending your story ideas, your triumphs and your challenges. I’ve come from a long line of editors and more will follow after me. Continue to invest in your community newspaper and its reporters because they are investing in you.
I’ll see you on the Dark Side.
editor@nanaimobulletin.com
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