Where has the time gone?

     A lot can happen in 12 years, and a lot has happened during my 12 years here at the Monticello Express…

     I recently came across the column I wrote in September 2010 to commemorate my one-year anniversary of working here, which is actually Aug. 31. The headline read: “My first year at the Monticello Express (and I plan on sticking around).” Well, I certainly stuck around… for 11 more years (and counting).

     That one-year anniversary column highlighted some of my favorite stories and events I covered for the paper during that first year. And if I had the time to go back over 12 years of Express issues, I literally could fill an entire newspaper with my favorite memories in that time!

     I’ve covered more city council and county supervisor meetings than I can count. I’ve covered perhaps a handful of school board meetings, but that gig typically falls on Pete Temple. (The one meeting I don’t have to worry about covering.)

     We’ve had many elections of city, county, school board, state, congressional, and presidential candidates in my past 12 years here. It’s been great getting to know those in office, and to have a friendly rapport with all of them as well, especially our local and state representatives.

     Because Iowa is known for its first-in-the-nation caucuses in February, the state is a hotspot for presidential candidates. Jones County has certainly seen its share of many of those candidates. For this list, I had to do some digging (and likely left a couple out), but here are those candidates we (myself and Pete) covered in the last 12 years: Rick Santorum (2011, 2015, 2016), Ron Paul (2011), Chris Christie (2012, 2015), Carly Fiorina (2015), Rand Paul (2015), Bernie Sanders (2015, 2020), Hillary Clinton (2015), Mike Huckabee (2015), Rafael Cruz (2015, campaigning for his son Ted Cruz), Bobby Jindal (2015), Tonette Walker (2015, campaigning for her husband Scott Walker), Ben Carson (2016), John Kasisch (2016), Tulsi Gabbard (2019), Joe Biden (2019), Pete Buttigieg (2020), and Andrew Yang (2020).

     The political junky that I am, when I heard Cory Booker was going to be speaking at a bar in Manchester in 2019 while on the campaign trail, I jumped at the chance to drive up to my former neck of the woods to see him. It was pretty neat to attend a presidential candidate visit without having my reporter hat on.

     The surreal moment for me was in February 2018 when I walked into The Jitney late one Friday night as Bernie Sanders and three of his staff members just happened to be sitting at a table; no one else in the bar. To get the chance to have a one-on-one conversation with him was quite memorable…

     I have written several feature stories on some amazing Monticello trailblazers that we have lost over the last 12 years… having the opportunity to hear from their loved ones and share their stories is a privilege.

     A child of two Army veterans, I take pride in also sharing the stories of our local service members and veterans as they’ve recounted their time in the military and what their service and sacrifice has meant to them and so many.

     I have covered 11 Great Jones County Fairs. (Only had heat stroke once.)

     I’ve covered 11 first days of school.

     I’ve covered one pandemic.

     On top of it all, I have made it my mission to offer a wide variety of news, features, and information our readers need to know. I’ve gotten to know some amazing individuals in this community who trusted me with telling their stories.

     Aside from my busy work life, I’ve spent my 12 years here thoroughly engaged in our community. It’s always nice to be a part of a board or committee without having to cover those meetings.

     My passion with reading keeps me active on the Monticello library board and Jones County Every Child Reads (formerly Grade Level Reading). I grew up going to my local library, and I remember how exciting it was to check out a book or buy a new book at the second-hand bookstore in Manchester.

     I’ve also had the chance to work with some AWESOME co-workers here at the Express! We truly have a well-oiled machine here and work together to serve our readers, our advertisers, and the public.

     Cheers to 12 years (and many more)!