So long, farewell…thank you
Jacquie Brasher

After ten years of writing for this newspaper, the time has come for me to bid all of you a fond farewell. It's perhaps a little sooner than I had hoped that I would be writing this exit piece, but times are a-changin' and an economic recession has decided that my time to go is now.

I thank all of you for reading my articles and features for all these years. I have learned so much from your responses to me. It's been an insightful experience. I have treasured all the moments, big and small.

A big part of my job was covering meetings. Many, many meetings! I remember so clearly the first day of covering a Swainsboro City Council meeting. We had Mayor Jim Buckley. Very soon after that, we elected Mayor Ricky Stevens. And now Mayor Charles Schwabe is in charge. All three mayors and councils have been very gracious to me and I appreciate that. Administrator Al Lawson has always provided me with facts I missed at meetings. Then I started covering County Commission meetings. Thank you to Administrator Ezra Price, Commissioners, and Attorney Franklin Edenfield for their help. I also covered Board of Education meetings. I want to thank School Superintendent Butch Frye for his willingness to work with the press. (It's not often that "the press" gets treated so well; I was lucky.) Reporting the news has not always been easy or pretty, but when it was good, it was great.

I covered the law enforcement and fire department beat, too. I appreciate Police Chief Johnny Shuman, Assistant Chief Clifford Young, Betty Hill, and all the officers; and Fire Chief Mike Strobridge (and former Fire Chief Jerry Odom and Harriet) and all the firefighters for their efforts in getting me the information I always needed. Sheriff Tyson Stephens, Chief Deputy Joel Beecher, Deputy Paul Bowen, all the other deputies and investigators, and Tammy, Donna and Anne, have also been invaluable to me. I visited the Clerk of Court every week as well, and I thank all the employees there (especially Diane) for supplying me with court information. Thanks, too, to the Georgia State Patrol office for their assistance once a week.

But mostly, I want to thank the readers of this newspaper and, especially, Page 4A. Swainsboro and Emanuel County have been exceptionally good to me and it goes to show that "southern hospitality" is not a thing of the past. I was welcomed to this community the day I started working here and I have never felt ostracized, no matter what I wrote in this space. That's a testament to the people in this community. Many of you have been terrific, and I have been very fortunate.

My horizons have unexpectedly expanded right now, and that's probably a positive thing. As much as I have loved writing for you, it's time to move on. I plan to continue writing in some form or other (maybe freelancing, an online blog, or a book) so keep an eye out for me! I wish for all of you the wonderful gifts that life can bring you, because you have given me the gift of writing for you for ten years.

Thanks for reading.- Jacquie Brasher may be reached at jacqual@nctv.com..

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