If you’ve read one of my other stories from this week, then you know this will be the final time I appear in the Pierce County Journal, at least for the foreseeable future.

It’s important to let all the readers know that I’ve been offered and have accepted a sports reporting position at the Duluth News Tribune in Duluth, Minn. That means that my time here at the Pierce County Journal is running thin.

When I was thinking about writing this, I was trying to decide where to start, but I think I was missing the point. My main takeaway from moving to the area and covering Pierce County sports for the last two years is that this is the most accepting, loving community I’ve ever encountered.

I moved to the area in September 2021 and since then, the five communities that I cover – Ellsworth, River Falls, Prescott, Spring Valley and Elmwood/Plum City – have treated me like a lifelong resident.

Instead of seeing me as an outsider, which I was, people in the community welcomed me with open arms and made my job as a sports reporter exponentially easier. I don’t think I could have been given a more fortunate first set of communities to work in and serve.

So many of the coaches that I have worked with have left a permanent positive impact on my life and reporting career. I don’t have unlimited space, but I want to take a moment to appreciate how impactful those coaches have been on my career thus far.

In Ellsworth, it was Jason Janke, Rob Heller, Derek Staley, Mark Matzek, Brandon Voelker, Tom Diercks, Jeremiah Paulson and Allison Odmark. In River Falls it was Zac Campbell, Ryan Bishop, Matt Smith, Ryan Scherz, Ian Sticht, Caitlin Brudzinski, Tim LaVold, Max Haskins, Kevin Black, Cam Wilken, Sara Kealy, Charles Conley, Lance Westberg, Matt Walker and Josh Eidem.

In Prescott, it was Nick Johnson, Chad Salay, Owen Hamilton, Jordan Hansen, Tracey Budworth, Emily and Carl Calabrese, and Jeff Ryan. In Spring Valley it was Rob Bosshart, Ryan Kapping, Sean Hoolihan, Erik Thompson, Kelli Schlegel, Matt Ducklow and superintendent John Groh.

Last but not least are the impactful people in Elmwood/Plum City, which include Amanda Webb, Tom Sauve, Kyle Webb and Mike Birtzer. I’m sure I’ve missed some people, but I can’t say enough about how grateful I am for these coaches and school staff who helped me do my job these last two years.

It wouldn’t be fair to thank the coaches and not acknowledge the athletic directors who have had to put up with my annoying email questions for the last two years. The athletic directors I’m thankful for include Adam Koger at Ellsworth, David Crail at River Falls, Andrew Caudill at Prescott, Matt Ducklow at Spring Valley and Kevin Haglund at Elmwood/Plum City.

When I took this job nearly two years ago, I never could have imagined how much I’d fall in love with the communities that I covered. I quickly learned that most people from around this area never move away, and now I know why.

It’s going to be weird for me not to cover sports in this area anymore. I can’t imagine a fall in sports season where I’m not talking to Chad Salay about Prescott’s latest golf tournament win or Sara Kealy about River Falls’ dominant home volleyball winning streak, which I believe is up to around 70 games.

In the winter I’m going to miss talking flare screens on the hardwood with Zac Campbell and the seemingly endless (but unbelievably enjoyable) conversations with Nick Johnson about whether his team should be playing man or zone defense. I think after two years we finally figured out that both are acceptable.

In the spring I’m going to miss talking track with Emily and Carl Calabrese and I’m going to miss listening to Matt Smith talk about how his softball defense in River Falls is “going to work the leather” in the field.

There are so many little inside jokes that I have with coaches that will always make me smile when I think about them. Those couple of minutes I get one-on-one with coaches or athletes after games are so precious to me because it’s real, unfiltered emotion.

I feel like I’ve built close working relationships with nearly every coach in the county. I’ve always done my best to go above and beyond in my coverage and I hope that my writing has brought a little bit of joy to some of you readers out there.

I owe a big thanks to John McLoone and Sarah Nigbor for offering me this job a couple of summers ago. That’s a debt I’ll never be able to repay. I also owe thanks to my mom for pushing me to take this job. I was nervous, but she knew what was best for me.

There isn’t a lot left to say except that I’ve been beyond blessed for the last two years to cover sports in Pierce County. It’s been an absolute honor and privilege to tell your stories and serve these communities. I love this place and I’m really going to miss it.