Thanks for the years here

Have you ever noticed that in our world, be it personal or business, we take many things for granted. We get through each day with a measure of routine that is part of our comfort zone.

Do not get me wrong when I say this is not to portray a world of fairies and rose colored glasses and it includes so very many ups and downs and laughter and smiles and tears and discomfort but for me it has a rhythm. Good and bad, worry or an absolute given, perceived or not, but certain things just are. When we have change to that routine it puts a stutter in that stride and causes a moment of being frozen in place and the mind takes off.

I do feel that way in my work world but especially when it involves my staff and everyday working family. Things change, it is as simple as that. If I have learned anything this last year as publisher, it is that things can change very quickly with little to no warning and we have to regroup, catch our breath and keep going. Anything is possible and if you work hard and believe in what you know and what you can learn then you can do it.

With that being said, the Mountain Home News has great change coming the end of this week and I am finding it very difficult to articulate that information for you. We must say goodbye, good luck and keep in touch to an employee that is leaving and taking on a new adventure. Kelly Everitt, long-time (26 years to be exact) managing editor of the Mountain Home News will be leaving and taking a new job starting next week. His last day here will be this Friday, Jan. 16. This is a change of magnitude in our business and he will be greatly missed but at the same time I wish him well as all the staff does on his new endeavors.

We must all make the hard decisions in life to do what we in our hearts must do for ourselves and our families. I respect and admire that in a person. Stepping outside the comfort zone is a huge thing and I applaud his bravery and truly hate to lose him.

Kelly is a bottomless pool of knowledge, ideas, opinions, stories, jokes, history and endless bits of conversation for me. I have enjoyed the things he has shared with me and his ability to adjust with very little hesitation to the change of our business in the everyday flow of business vs. news. We have shared and compromised, argued, agreed and disagreed, but as co-workers that believe in what we produce and put out each week.

He is a true professional that will be the first to tell you he cannot make everyone happy in his editorial duties that include providing the news and keeping the community informed. But his heart and soul are part of his belief in this community and providing the news and information that is available to him for our readers.

It is a tough, thankless position sometimes when the people "know exactly what happened" and he must still wait on validated proven information. He is an old school newspaper man with a hunger for news and information.

I promised Kelly that I would not do a huge big write up on his leaving with a history bio. I leave him to share his thoughts and goodbyes in his own way. I respect his decision to hold back until this week to announce his leaving.

People read Kelly's editorial pieces each week to sometimes just see what he is thinking or find an arguing point. It is a privilege of being an editor on sharing his opinion of the week. Nobody has to agree or disagree with an editorial. It is the same premise of the letters to the editors. It is an opinion of the editor and he chooses to put it out there. They are brave, I will give them that, as you never know who is going to disagree or agree. They simply have the ability to write, make you think, make you bring passionate personal opinion to the top and either share it or at least give it a hard consideration. I value respectful differences of opinion. It is what makes me "consider" a difference.

I believe he many times made people, maybe if even only a little, consider something different, myself included.

News on the other hand is the challenge of gathering all the pieces to the puzzle and making it work for a weekly publication. Kelly, like me, believes in print, which for us comes in hard-copy weekly newspapers. Digital has made it possible to release some information as it is made available to us, but behind the scene he continues to gather the information to the end, even when not readily available.

His passion for journalism is true and he has seen and met people in his career and travels that add to his notebook of information and treasures. He is an avid reader and history buff and a collector of knowledge.

I have worked with Kelly the last 25 years. We don't always agree, but that in itself has become a safe zone of sharing differences and sharing our vision of news and information to our readers.

He will be missed. The Mountain Home News would like to invite everyone to stop by for an open house visit with Kelly this afternoon from 2:30-3:30 p.m. to share stories, wish him luck and shake his hand. He is a fixture of our world and family here and I know he will be missed in our community as well.

Kelly will never be replaced, but we will have a new editor and will continue our presentation of the Mountain Home News with a new pen, ideas and yes opinions. Let the fun continue.

I am pleased to announce that Brian Orban has accepted the position as Editor. He has been with us since 2009 when he became a reporter and photographer working for Kelly. I am a firm believer in promoting within in conjunction with hiring as well and the never-ending process of learning and expanding our horizons. Many of you are familiar with Brian and his coverage of outside assignments of city, county and government issues. He had worked very closely with Kelly the last 5+ years and covered as interim editor in his absence.

His base has been firmly established here and he learned from one of the best, which just added to an already rich journalism career.

Things are changing. Change is inevitable at times in our lives. We will remember with fond memories and carry on. It is the new and future possibilities that I must turn forward to.

As we move on it is with sorrow and expectation that I look ahead. Saying goodbye and the new adventures to come will be working hand in hand.

Good Luck, Mr. Everitt, and stay in touch!

Thank you for your service, your dedication and all that you have brought to the table as Managing Editor of the Mountain Home News. Thank you and Good Luck.

-- Brenda M. Fincher, publisher, Mountain Home News