“Say hello, wave goodbye.” I thought these lyrics by David Gray were appropriate for my editorial debut and simultaneous finale. Also, the fact that it’s going to be until at least July before my annual summer visit to the old neighborhood in Northeast Portland…where I will be subsequently beat up by my friends for going on the record as a David Gray fan.
You see, I’ve worked for the Bothell-Kenmore Reporter since September of 2007 on the advertising side. I’m the one that asks people for money. The one that walks through the door and causes shop owners to find the nearest stack of papers to rifle through with the immediacy of an early morning trip to the delivery room…the one that is hissed from the stage.
On my final day here at the paper, I am a writer. This column is not solely my own. I am writing this farewell on behalf of Andrea Southern, who until earlier this month has been our unquestioned leader for the past two-and-a-half years as the publisher of the Bothell-Kenmore Reporter. As if running your paper wasn’t enough, she was also the publisher of the Redmond Reporter, and over the past several months, the Kirkland Reporter, as well. She has decided to take the plunge and start her own business along with her husband and family. This newspaper and this man flourished under Andrea’s leadership and she is already sorely missed. The best of luck to the woman that we affectionately call “mama bear.”
Your community newspaper will emerge from this personnel change stronger than ever. For an industry that didn’t have a need to deal with change for several hundred years, the past 15 years have more than made up for it. The social, cultural and economic landscape of how people live their lives and receive their information is constantly evolving. The common thread that keeps the symbiotic relationship strong between the Bothell-Kenmore Reporter and the people of the Northshore is our affinity for the very communities that we live and work in. People will always want to know what’s going on within their community, and your local newspapers are the only professional, unbiased source of information available to them on a continual basis.
The communities of Bothell and Kenmore are dealing with the same experiences in our own growth. In just the short amount of time that I have been working here, I have seen an abundance of change come to the landscape of the Northshore. Unfortunately, sometimes change for the greater good comes at the cost of a select few. Businesses are relocated, lives are changed and new life paths are chosen. It is important to remember that the small businesses in your community are there because they wholeheartedly believe in your community. Whenever the opportunity arises, please consider giving them your business because small businesses are the backbone of our local economy…and they are also our neighbors and friends. When was the last time a big box store helped you out in a jam?
I want to thank everyone that I’ve come into contact with during my years here. Many of you have not only been wonderful business partners, but have shared your personal triumphs and tribulations with me in real time. You accepted me as a local, and for that I am forever grateful.
Lastly, I want to thank all of my colleagues at the Bothell-Kenmore Reporter and Sound Publishing for putting up with my antics over the years. Having you as co-workers and friends has inherently enhanced me as a person and I look forward to watching all of your achievements from afar…if you consider Bellevue to be afar, which is where my new sales role with this company takes me.
I’ll leave you with a quote from Arthur Ashe that I feel helps epitomize the mindset and outlook we all should have in life: “You have got to get to the stage in life where going for it is more important than winning or losing.” I couldn’t have said it any better. Until next time my friends.
