A Letter to The Editor

Mr Rhead,

   It's been twenty-six years. Twenty-six years of storytelling. Stories of those in our community- of hardship, celebration, sporting accomplishments and iconic Day by Days. For twenty-six years, you have been at the helm, reporting for our community. For twenty-two years, you have been my favourite storyteller. A storyteller who has inspired me.

From your beloved bedtime stories "Ouch! ouch! oooh, ahh as we ran across the hot sand" to recounts of your day, a bushwalk or an old tale from Lothair Road; your passion for communicating ideas, events and stories were a big part of my childhood. Honestly, not many surly teenagers think their parent's careers are important or interesting (it's only when they mature and are approx 20+ that they GET IT!)

The 'paper' has always been a big part of my life too. As a nine-year-old, I felt SO important spending the morning with the ladies in accounts before school- it made the commute from Bathurst (a tad) more exciting! I learnt how to count the tills (unfortunately this didn't help with my math abilities) and would read the paper, scouring for spelling mistakes and misplaced commas. I was, however, NEVER allowed to enter the colouring competitions or movie ticket raffles (the tragedy!), which was a MASSIVE deal to nine-year-old, hard done by Alex! 

You have overseen and implemented the restructuring of newspaper operations - a new office, a new daily tabloid paper and navigated the scary world of social media (well, scary for those over 35...) "Ohh Moogs, have you heard about those Google hangouts?"

Through it all, you have always been the man who can rustle up direct (but fair) letters to irresponsible tour companies, make a stern phone call to slack real estate agents or confront a horrible case of bedbugs in a holiday house with a no-nonsense attitude and a calm and concise case. You may be tragic at remembering peoples names (hey, we can't all be perfect) but you have the ability to make everyone feel heard which is a true testament of your love for family and respect for friends and colleagues. 

You have been a trusted community figure, a mentor for young journalists, a compassionate colleague, as well as an editor and newspaper extraordinaire. The narrative of your hard work, commitment and a genuine enthusiasm for your role in the company and contribution to the news should be read with great appreciation. 

Never did I think I would see myself pursuing a career where I would write. So you see, Mr Rhead, your fervour for telling stories has encouraged confidence to pursue my passion and write my own narrative. As you're my biggest fan, I hope mine will be filled with similar success and stories as yours (with a tad more makeup related content) and that you proudly keep up those Facebook shares!  For now, the next chapter of your narrative will have space for exploration, adventure and new opportunities (a barista course?). No matter the content (not too many rain gauge updates please), I'll be eagerly turning the pages, rheading along and checking the spelling too.  

A.  x