SE to SID - Drew Wilson

Drewgie Wilson, SID?

It just doesn't have the same ring.


Congrats on escaping MG though, Drew. Get up here and I'll buy you a beer or six.

 

Averett has sports?
Football?

I thought it was a (airplane) pilots school? I met a few guys from Averett a few years ago and they were both there to become airline pilots.
I knew they had some sports, but anything of note?

 

http://www.averett.edu/athletics/athletics.php

 

I was looking at that website...

Is that the same Charles Harris that was at Arizona State?

Ho Lee Sheeeet

 

It is the Harris.

I guess hiring Bill Frieder was not the best career move.

Although, working for a small college in a nice town is not too bad of a way to spend your life. Actually, it sounds really nice.

 

Congrats to Drew. Even though he talked about getting out last time we spoke I never really believed I'd last longer in this business than him.

The football and basketball coaches at Averett are both nice guys and good coaches and whoever replaces Drew will have some good PR people to work with between Drew and Mike Smith at the track in Martinsville.

 

I knew something was in the works with Drew. He gets the benefit of a new job without having to relocate. ;D

Congrats!

Yes, Averett has football. I was there for the debut. Has it won any games yet?

 

Good people.
Best of luck, Drew.

 

Thank you for the kind words.

It was a really tough decision to leave the Register & Bee. I started stringing for them when I was a senior in high school. They gave me numerous opportunities when I was home on breaks from college and gave me my first job as a news designer. I owe them a lot. Not many higher ups would have trusted handing off the reins of the sports section to a 22-year-old less than a year after he graduated college.

I feel lucky that I was able to work with such talented people in sports there, from the writers that helped me develop (see current Lynchburg staffers) to the great group of guys I was able to convince to come to Dan Vegas. It took a few years after I became SE to get back up to a full four-person staff, but for the six or seven months we had four people, we did some amazing things.

Like many other papers, our resources have dried up thanks to hiring freezes and not filling positions. Heck, we haven't even had a photographer in five months! But that isn't why I chose to leave. As some of you know, I got married about a month ago. I wasn't necessarily looking to make a jump, but this fell right into my lap unexpectedly. Family is important, and the fact that I'll actually get to see my wife because of the better hours was a huge perk. I know I'll miss the newspaper a lot, but this opportunity was too good to pass up.

Averett has a few decent teams. Men's basketball has won the conference the last two seasons and gone to the NCAAs. Football shared the conference two years ago, but lost 22 seniors and finished 0-10 last year. A few other teams are on the rise.