This is my farewell post.
Today marks my final day at the Daily Herald. We are headed to Pennsylvania next week where my wife will begin a PhD program at the University of Pittsburgh.
Leaving elicits much melancholia. I began my career at the Herald as a part-timer fresh out of WSU’s Murrow College of Communication back in 2007. Then came stops in Iowa and Montana (where I met my wife). The Silvertips/AquaSox beat job opened in 2015 when my predecessor Nick Patterson took over the Seahawks/columnist role.
Everything I learned about hockey I gleaned from my three years on the Silvertips beat. It was a privilege to follow them the last three years, culminating with the best season in franchise history. I owe a debt of gratitude to a number of people with the Tips organization, including director of broadcasting and media relations Mike Benton, general manager Garry Davidson, chief operating officer Zoran Rajcic, and coaches Dennis Williams, Mitch Love, Brennan Sonne and Kevin Constantine. All were terrific sources who were always available.
The AquaSox beat came more naturally since it’s a sport I played for a dozen years. It was fun to see the top Mariners draftees each summer. I need to thank general manager Danny Tetzlaff, front office staffers Alex “The Straw that Stirs the Drink” Clausius and Jason Grohoske, and press box stalwarts “Tall Tom” Lafferty, Pat Castro and Pat Dillon for making it so enjoyable in the booth and putting up with my nonsense for three straight summers.
Lastly the Herald; I’d like to thank the aforementioned Nick Patterson (who once interviewed me when I was a high school baseball player following a district playoff game at Everett Memorial Stadium) for all his help and mentorship the past three years. Copy editors Chad Davis and Brian Adamowsky were also great colleagues who became good friends and often let me vent when things were not going well. And of course I need to thank sports editor Kevin Brown, whom I’ve known since I was a teammate of his son Ryan in U-11 soccer 23 years ago (Ryan and I later teamed up for illustrious high school careers at Dairy Queen).
Kevin gave me a shot in 2007 and sent me off to the Midwest with his professional blessing a year later.
Three years ago he brought me home.
For that I’ll be forever grateful.
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