If someone had told me I would be writing these words two months ago, I would have thought they were telling lies. I came into Steamboat Springs expecting to be here much longer than three years — perhaps decades — but I’ve recently accepted the position of managing editor for The Maui News, and The Steamboat Pilot & Today is currently searching for its next editor.

The opportunity to lead The Maui News, the island’s newspaper since 1900, came up as somewhat of a surprise to me. I didn’t have any resumes out there, and I wasn’t out looking for any other jobs.

Honestly, I haven’t even updated my resume since I first came on with Swift Communications in 2017 as the features editor for the Summit Daily. I’ve bounced around a little bit in the company since then, going from Summit to Grand County and then Steamboat Springs. During that entire time, I’ve been doing pretty much exactly what I want to do — journalism in the Colorado Rockies — and I’ve been happy here.

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Working In Steamboat Springs and Craig, I have come to know the communities as a beautiful array of diverse individuals who occupy an absolutely amazing place in this world. It’s a winter and summer wonderland.

It can be hard to make ends meet and I’ve certainly felt the squeeze on housing like so many others, but it’s also a magical place with its tight-knit bonds between its people and the environment.

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Yes, I have loved my time here, but for quite some time I’ve also known an ocean could be in store for me in the future. I’ve secretly wondered for many years what it might be like to live in a tropical climate with palm trees overhead and sandy beaches under my feet. 

I feel like I need to express my gratitude to my publisher, my regional manager and our owners. Knowing what a big move it is to go from the Colorado Rockies to an island in the middle of the North Pacific Ocean, they work together as they arranged for me fly out to Maui. I was able to work at The Maui News to get a feel for the island and see if it feels like a good fit for me.

Needless to say, it does.

In the month I was in Maui, I I came to love much more than the longitude. From the rich history of Hawaii to the people who live there and visit Maui and the towering mountains and the pristine beaches, I felt hooked like a trout at the end of a line.

For me, this is a bittersweet moment because while I am extremely excited for what’s ahead, I’m also sad to be leaving all this behind.

I say that because, when I reflect on my time in Northwest Colorado as the editor of the Steamboat Pilot & Today and the Craig Press, I feel like it’s been one of the greatest honors of my professional career. I’ve loved the news cycle in Northwest Colorado, all the wild happenings we have been able to cover, the community stories we’ve shared, and the landscape we’ve lived on while we’ve been able do it. 

Since moving back to my home state from Tennessee and Kentucky almost eight years ago, I’ve been firmly locked into the mountains, and I hope folks know I am grateful for all of the opportunities I’ve had here and even more so for the amazing people I’ve met along the way.

I want to say that there are few people I will miss more than the ones I’ve worked with the last three years. I’m grateful for our publisher Bonnie Stewart, and I’ve been lucky to share an office with some great journalists at many different places in their careers.

I hope they know it’s been my pleasure working with them, and I love this newsroom and the people in it with all of my heart. I wish whoever follows behind me the best luck and many successes working with this team. 

I truly am sorry we didn’t get more time together, but I will always think of my time as the editor of the Steamboat Pilot and Craig Press as one of the greatest honors of my professional life. Like many of you, I love Steamboat Springs and I won’t ever rule out a return sometime in the future.

For now, though, it’s hard for me to see much beyond Maui, and the time has come to say goodbye.

I can’t tell you how truly grateful I am for my time here and for you. Thank you so much and God bless.