Bittersweet

Well, this is it.

This is my last issue as a member of the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal team, and clichés be damned, typing these words is one of the most bittersweet moments I’ve known. I couldn’t be more excited about joining Arvest Bank, but leaving the Business Journal feels like leaving a second family.

Leaving you, the readers, isn’t easy, either. Meeting and getting to know so many members of the area’s business community has been one of the best collective experiences of my life.

I’ll miss the work, too, particularly getting a scoop or putting the finishing touches on one of those stories you just know everyone’s going to read. I’ve never known the rush of closing a big deal or obliterating a sales goal, but I know well the rush that goes with scoops and celebrated stories, and it feels good — real good.

Frankly, I’ll miss seeing my name and face in print, too. Any writer who says otherwise is selling you a pen without ink.

Really, though, this column is about the Business Journal. If you want to know what’s going on in our business community, the Business Journal is all the ink you need.

It was that way long before I got here, and I can’t imagine a future in which that isn’t the case. The commitment of both management and the staff to bring you what you want and need is unmatched.

As you probably know, Paul Gatling succeeded me as editor, and I can’t imagine handing the blue highlighter (Sorry, inside joke.) to anyone more ready to do the job. In addition, I’m proud to call him a friend and know he will take the Business Journal to newer, smarter heights.

And with that, there’s only one thing left to write: Thank you.