This will be my last issue as editor-in-chief of Delaware Today. As I leave to pursue other opportunities, I hope you feel that I have served you well. My goals were simple: to work hard, honor our readers, create more diversity in our content, be a true ambassador of our magazines in the community, and to insist with every ounce of my being on journalistic integrity. I did my absolute best to achieve those goals.
But things change, and I felt it was time to start a new chapter. Lord knows I’m not getting any younger. As time marches on, you think about your quality of life and what the future holds.
As most of you know, my priority is my 12-year-old son, Ben. I have written for years about Ben, and many of you probably feel like you know him. I have chosen a path that I hope will allow me more time with my son and my family. I hope to reconnect with friends who probably think I’ve fallen off the face of the Earth.
I thank our readers for the years of support, and for the letters of praise and criticism. I thank all the people we’ve profiled, and remain in awe of their honesty and willingness to tell their stories.
I thank Rob Martinelli for affording me the opportunity to lead a magnificent team—the happy faces you see below. I owe a debt of gratitude to Mark Nardone, our former editor-in-chief-turned-senior writer, who took a chance on me in the first place, and hired me as senior editor in 2005. Mark: I remember with fondness all those discussions about proper grammar and story development. You made me a better writer. I thank Drew Ostroski for being the best managing editor known to man, and for all the jokes. (They kept me going when things got crazy.) Beth Weiss, our art director, has brought elegance back to the magazine, and assistant art director Stephanie Senner has been a joy. I am grateful to staff photographer Ron Dubick, whose work has taken us to new levels. I am indebted to our freelance writers, photographers and interns.
The editorial team works with other departments, and there are too many people to list by name. I’m grateful to have shared a masthead with all of them. Trust me, this is a company populated with talented, hard-working people. I leave a smarter person because of what the professionals at Today Media taught me.
I have valued and enjoyed our time together. And as I bid farewell, I hope you’ll remember my favorite premise: Life is short. Make the most of it.
