“A thing is not beautiful because it lasts. It was a privilege to be among them.”

The Vision, “Age of Ultron”

Despite feeling like the year has just started, I have been told it is already March, and by the time I am ready to accept that, it will likely be April. 

However, I will spend this column discussing some events that took place in February, as due to my scheduled column being pushed back, I was unable to address some of the big changes that were made at the Southern Standard. 

Our sports writer, Jeff Simmons, has left his position to work for radio, and our publisher, Pat Zechman, announced her retirement.

I had the privilege to work alongside Jeff for over half a year, and despite knowing him for that long, it feels like I only saw him a handful of times. The reason it felt like only a handful of times is likely because we worked on very different schedules, and I would see him an average of once a week.

If you are reading this, Jeff, and think I have misrepresented anything, I invite you to prove me wrong; I’ll wait. 

While I was only a brief part of Pat’s over 50-year career with the Southern Standard, I thoroughly enjoyed our frequent chats about local events and the occasional gossip. In the short amount of time I spent working with her, Pat taught me a lot about the history of Warren County and the storied history of the many reporters who came before me at the Southern Standard.

Since Pat has stepped down as publisher, I have missed our chats, and sometimes, I feel like I can still hear her voice coming from her office. This is because Pat is still moving some things out of her office and has been in and out of the Southern Standard almost as frequently as when she was the publisher.

I am not a big fan of change, which is quite apparent in how I live my life. I have had the same car since I was 16, I have had the same best friend since I was six, and when I have some extra time after work, I still return to the same handful of comfort shows and video games that I enjoyed in high school. 

I have been working to enjoy changes and appreciate things for the time I have them. It is difficult to say goodbye to two of my coworkers in such a short amount of time; I am grateful for the many inside jokes and lessons they provided me.

While I have poked fun and made a few jokes throughout this column, I am happy for Jeff and Pat, and I wish them the best in their future endeavors.

Standard reporter Caden Hurley can be contacted at churley@southernstandard.com.