Message from the editor

Posted

One of the benefits of serving as editor of a local weekly paper is the opportunity to meet an awful lot of awfully nice people.

From the Rotary Club and the chamber of commerce to local churches, businesses and nonprofit groups, a local editor has a chance to interact with a wide cross section of residents: adults, children, senior citizens; artists, environmentalists, small business owners – the people who together make up the very fabric of a community.

These are the interactions that I will cherish most as I complete my time as editor at The Ponte Vedra Recorder and prepare to begin a new communications role at JEA.

During my tenure as Recorder editor, my small editorial staff and I have worked diligently to provide thoughtful, intelligent coverage of the important issues facing Ponte Vedra. Traffic. Development. Taxes. Public safety. At the same time, we tried to highlight the positive and uplifting things happening in our community. From art exhibitions and charity fundraisers to ceremonies honoring veterans and local heroes, the Recorder has endeavored to, in the words of one very kind reader, “capture the essence of our community.”

Rest assured that commitment will continue. Beginning next week, Recorder reporter Jon Blauvelt will assume the position of editor. Those of you who have had an opportunity to meet Jon or read his articles in the Recorder know that he is a gifted writer and talented reporter, and I have every confidence that he will continue to bring readers top-notch coverage of what’s happening in Ponte Vedra.

And forgive me if I take pride in sharing that my daughter, Samantha Logue, will be assisting Jon by filling his former reporter’s position. Having previously contributed articles and photographs to the Recorder and First Coast Register, Samantha will now cover Ponte Vedra and the Beaches as a member of the Recorder staff. I look forward to reading both Jon and Samantha’s reporting as a dedicated Recorder reader.

When I first became editor of The Ponte Vedra Recorder, I wrote a message to you, our readers, expressing my belief that serving on the staff of a local community paper was both a great privilege and a great responsibility. I now pass that privilege and responsibility to others, secure in the knowledge that they will uphold the tradition the Recorder began nearly 50 years ago as the paper of record for Ponte Vedra and the Beaches. It is a tradition worth preserving and supporting, and I thank all of you who made my time at the Recorder so rewarding.