I just wanted to thank those who commented on my promotion with a few words of praise. I worked with some good people during my years as sports editor in Anderson, S.C. and Tallahassee and I'm looking forward to developing and building a staff in Evansville as the sports editor here. The advantage of being the columnist the past four years is that I already know the area. And with Tim having established so much here, I'm walking into a good situation as section editor. We've already moved quickly to fill the vacancy my promotion has created for a University of Evansville beat writer, so I won't have any immediate openings. But I appreciate the interest the opening did create and promise to let the process play out a little longer next time.
As for my Gannett years in Tallahassee, all I will say is that I've moved on and I'm better off for it. I very much enjoyed the six years I was there under Knight Ridder ownership. I only regret I wasn't there to cover Bowden's final season ... Well, that and the money I lost on the house my wife and I remodeled and then sold in a depressed housing market 14 months after leaving. You live and you learn.