Goodbye South Windsor, and Thank You

On June 28, 2012, I posted a video of myself - eating chicken wings, no less - during which I made two proclamations: first, that I would cover South Windsor to the best of my abilities. Second, that the women of South Windsor should not fall in love with me.

Well, one out of the two ain’t bad. (It was inevitable that you all fell in love with me.)

Anyway, we’ve been through a lot together in 13 months. Professionally, I covered unspeakable tragedies, incredibly uplifting stories, political intrigue and even the great mystery of CT Studios. Personally, you’ve been along with me as I got married, had my first baby, I stalked Taylor Swift and watched the movie “Sharknado.” (Don’t ask me which one I rank as the greatest thing to happen to me in the last calendar year. Hint: Sharknado RULED.)

Anyhoo, today, sadly, I must say goodbye for now.

I have been transferred to the West Hartford Patch, effective July 29.

It is, at best, a bittersweet moment for me. I started at Patch in Granby and East Granby, two small communities in the Farmington Valley that I grew to adore. So when I was told that I was launching the South Windsor site, I was heartbroken. Truthfully, I didn’t want to leave. And I didn’t want to cover another town.

And yet, here I am, a little over a year later, finding myself in the same position, only with a different, but equally great, community.

I can’t thank you enough for the time I’ve had in South Windsor. The community embraced Patch with near universal enthusiasm. Any disagreements have always been met with a rare level of civility that speaks well of this fantastic community. 

(Just as an aside - and this has nothing to do with the fact that the Town Clerk’s office gave me a boatload of candy as a going away present - South Windsor is blessed with an incredible staff of town employees and volunteers.)

The silver lining in this is that Dave Moran, the Manchester Patch editor, will take over South Windsor as well. To say that he is excellent is an understatement.

I wish you all the very best. I promise to keep checking in on the town as much as possible. Because, even though I don’t live here, it’s my town, too.

Thank you so much for everything.