For six years I have lived in Canmore and worked as a reporter covering the Bow Valley while at the same time being very much a part of this community.
I have worn my status as a born-and-raised local like a badge of honour and worked hard to be fair and accurate in how and what I write.
But now I find myself having to say goodbye and I am finding the experience both easy and difficult at the same time.
I’m lucky to have a life here that makes it hard to move on. Friends and family, a job I am passionate and dedicated to.
This is my home but it is the job, or to be clear a new job, that is taking me away.
This is my last week as a reporter and as of Tuesday I will begin as editor of the Whistler Question. It is a career path that I know is right to follow and in a place that is just as exciting as it is here.
Just because it is right doesn’t mean it isn’t hard and so it is with this column that I say my official farewell to Canmore as its news reporter. This goodbye is not forever, we all know I will visit often and as a property owning taxpayer – I may be gone but I will still be paying attention.
I have a new chapter and a new adventure ahead of me but I will take with me the experiences I’ve had here with all the wonderful people who I have gotten to know along the way. The not so wonderful people, well they served a purpose too by helping me grow as a more patient person… or so I hope.
Every week for the past six years this valley has read the news as I present it and it has been a privilege. This profession is not easy but the great people I have had the opportunity to get to know and write about have made it easier.
I feel I leave this valley with a clear understanding of what it is to be a part of a community newspaper, the roles and responsibilities, while still being respected even if some people didn’t always agree with me.
Isn’t that the goal? To be able to dialogue and debate issues as a community while maintaining civility and respect for other people’s points of view?
These skills, my experiences here will help me be successful in my new role and my new community even though saying goodbye is tougher with every passing day.
Like the saying goes: “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”
