It hardly seems possible that it was four years ago that I came to ETSU.
It’s amazing to me how much one person can grow in such a short time. This past year gave me an opportunity to grow even more.
My time at the East Tennessean officially began in Fall ’02. I was a reporter who ended up covering some pretty heavy stuff, including the death of a friend, James Norwood. That is not easy for an experienced reporter, much less a fledgling one. It was definitely a learning experience.
I was also assigned to cover the SGA, which was an experience in and of itself and not necessarily a good one. But, we won’t go there.
At the end of that year, I then decided to kick it up a notch and accepted the position of news editor. I thought it would be a good way to end my time at ETSU. However, during that summer, I received an e-mail from advisor Martha Milner saying that the executive editor had resigned due to time constraints thanks to a job at the Johnson City Press.
So, I applied for the position and despite some very heavy competition from some talented section editors, I got the job. Talk about scary.
I came into this position knowing virtually nothing about QuarkXPress (the program we use to lay out this fine newspaper) and only a little bit about layout and what it truly takes to put a paper together.
However, yours truly has always been a hard worker and a quick learner. I was determined to make the ET better than it had ever been.
The committee that voted me in had faith in me, and I was determined to prove that faith was not misplaced.
It’s truly been a year of growth for me. When I first walked through the doors of ET office, I was pretty meek and mild in my dealings with people. I hated confrontation. Well, actually, I still do, but I’m much more capable of handling it.
I’m now truly a woman capable of making it out there in the real world. I just didn’t realize it until I began spending half of my life at the ET office.
I’ve gained some friends that I hope I never lose and some memories that will stay with me until I am old and gray.
Most recently, I suppose there was my fishing trip last week with former columnist Aaron Caton of Just Down the Road fame.
We went to Dennis Cove in Hampton, Tenn., and yours truly snagged four trout! I also caught one crayfish, but I don’t count him. He caught me, not the other way around.
As Aaron described it, I “have a natural talent.” Yes, I am tooting my own horn, but it was a big thing for me.
Then, there are my field trips with Kelly on production days. We really should have discovered the art of those earlier on in the year.
There are all the talks with Martha and Candy Naff (the glue that holds us all together).
They gave me advice on everything from men to life and those are lessons that I will keep with me all of my life.
Especially considering the fact that if I ever forgot them, Candy would make sure she reminded me again. Thank you both for everything you’ve done for me over the last couple of years. I’ll never forget it. And also, thank you Candy for being my mom in Johnson City. Even though I rarely admitted it, I really did appreciate you. By the way, I’ll deny ever typing that, just so you know.
The rest of the staff was just as colorful as the aforementioned members.
Between Seth Bartee’s constant reminders about my sex toy experiences (Hey, you all got to read the column!), Melanie Herrington’s girl talks about how boys are poo, Marianne’s encouragement and fun-filled comments and Kari Ratliff’s complete bluntness on any topic, the office was rarely boring. Especially on Wednesday nights when American Idol was on. (Go George Huff!) By the way, thanks Seth for taking over with just a month left. Your hard work and determination paid off, and you are truly becoming an editor. I’m anxious to see next year’s sports section.
To staff members that are no longer around, you definitely made life colorful, too. I think I have never been told before that if I would just get laid, I would be so much easier to work with. The credit for that comment goes to Patrick Savage and Rebecca Pierson. By the way, you might have been right.
I suppose the last part of this column (which just keeps going on and on) should be devoted to someone who truly did make this year special for me. Despite the fact that I only met him in the fall, Josh Shearin truly did manage to make an impact on my life.
Through our numerous late night Wal-Mart trips, which somehow managed to take in excess of two hours, and our other excursions, we became close friends.
He even braved a trip to Mountain City with me, which is always something to be proud of. There was also the John Mayer concert that he simply had to be “forced” to go to. We did manage to move to some much better seats though than what we had been given and had an awesome time.
So, thank you Josh for your friendship and putting up with my moods and everything else I do that which annoys you. It’s definitely not easy to do. Just ask anyone that knows me. You’re an awesome guy and an even better friend. Even if you are a senator.
Okay, I’ll wrap this up now. My time at the ET is something I will miss. It’s been a big year for ETSU and the paper. I hope I made you, the students, proud of our efforts, even if you didn’t necessarily agree with everything we printed or said. I know I’m extremely proud of my staff and all the help they gave me throughout this year. I never would have made it without them.
Now, as I hand over the reins to Kelly, the new executive editor, I know the ET can only get better from this point on. Wherever I go from here, I look forward to seeing what you all do.
Thanks for a heck of a year.

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