Editorial: The process of continuing to love and continuing to learn

Life has taught me to never stop learning and never stop loving.

That was one of the things that came up last year when I was approached to lead Charles City High School’s athletic department (see story on website). It was a shock to me that I was being approached but I was also honored as well.

For those who do not know, I worked in Charles City High School for eight years before being hired by the Chronicle. If anybody has ever experienced leaving a job you been at for a while and then moving on to a new one, you leave a lot of people that you care for behind. I was thankful for my years there and honored as well.

After receiving the call to work as an athletic director, I instructed them two things: Work with me around my schedule and don’t expect any leniency when I write about the school system. They completely understood and I took on the role.

Let me say this first and foremost, I didn’t do it for the money and I’m not doing it for the money. I’m doing for the communities that I love, and I am doing it for the student-athletes. In a similar way, that is how I feel when I write for the Chronicle. I put out information and try to be as accurate and fair as possible. I show no bias when I write stories and if there is a conflict of interest, I pass it off. Similar to when I took the job to be the athletic director, I do all I can when it comes to stories involving Charles City School’s system to avoid a conflict of interest. However, when the caveat I have told them about my job at the Chronicle, they still entrusted me to hold the position.

But one thing I can say is that in the last nine years (and for many more years to come), Charles City and New Kent continue to be communities that I love. I make every effort to get to cover events and the interaction with people continues to be phenomenal. Even today, I learn a lot about individuals I’ve known for several years through my interactions and think how amazing they are. I love every minute of that.

Now I am taking that love and working to restore programs to a school that has been targeted by media, social media platforms, and even talk amongst the community. Is everything I do going to be perfect? No, I’m not perfect nor do I want to be. But I am making an effort to make sure everyone has accurate information. I am making that outreach and hope in every asset of life that you do, that you make that outreach as well.

I thank God for these opportunities because there are times when I wake up every morning and think, “Why am I doing so much for so little?” But then I realize I woke up, meaning God still has a plan for me here on this Earth. I’m sorry if this part got a little bit religious but it’s how I feel.

We are all put in the places and given opportunities for a reason. It’s like why a person may like to be a doctor while others may want to be an electrician. We learn a lot because we are meant to be different. Last but not least, we are meant to love each other as we do these things to support each other.

So, to the Charles City and New Kent communities, thank you all for the love and support. I’m going to do my best for you all and hopefully you all do the same for me.