Leaving the comfort zone

By Staff
Kim West
I had someone ask me the other day at a ball game if I was going on to bigger and better things but I'm not going anywhere, at least not literally.
It guess it depends on how you would define greener pastures but within the next two or three weeks, I will be moving full-time to the news department of this paper. When the news position became available, I decided it would be a good opportunity to get outside of my comfort zone of going to ball games and talking to coaches and players.
I didn't major in journalism in college – I studied business and recreation administration – but I think of this past year as the equivalent of a journalism degree because I learned everything from how to use a camera worth more than my car and proper page design to knowing the best time to call a coach at school (the planning period) or where to look up hard-to-find information (the Franklin County Archives).
It has been a privilege covering sports in a county that is very similar to the one I grew up in. There are countless people to thank for providing a new sports reporter with stats, information, photos and plenty of encouragement, and I even want to thank the people who called the office and pointed out my mistakes or criticized anything from headline choices to all-county selections because it's important to keep a humble attitude and stay focused in this type of work.
I want to thank all the guidance counselors and school receptionists who received numerous phone calls, questions and faxes from the sports department. It seems to me every school has an unsung hero, and I appreciate people like Deborah Townsend at Vina, Bart Moss at Phil Campbell, Bridgette Smith at Russellville and Sherry Franklin at East Franklin for making sure the kids at their schools receive much-deserved attention.
I look forward to working alongside Jonathan and Melissa in the news department, because I know there are plenty of good stories yet to be written about the people, places and events in Franklin County.