As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end.

Working at The Tribune for almost seven and a half years has been a good thing for me. Friday will be my last day, however, as I enter into retirement.

I graduated from Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus in the summer of 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in communication. Prior to going back to college, I was an instructional assistant for six years at Seymour Middle School, so covering Seymour school board meetings has been a good fit over the past few years.

I started working at The Tribune on March 21, 2016, as a customer service representative in the circulation department. I enjoyed talking with the customers, but also had to handle complaints from time to time.​

Several months into my new job, the editor recalled I had applied for a position as a reporter at one time but did not get the position. He let me try my hand at writing an article for the paper since I’d had several magazine articles published.

The first story I wrote for The Tribune was printed on July 20, 2016, and it was called “Furry Connections” about a couple from Ormond Beach, Florida, who drove to Vallonia to adopt a goldendoodle named Lucy, who needed a new home.

After writing that article, I worked in both the newsroom and circulation for a while until one of the reporters left and I was offered a full-time position in the newsroom. I enjoyed writing, so I made the switch on Nov. 25, 2019.

Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to cover local meetings, festivals, fundraisers, high school graduations, convocations, church news, the Jackson County Fair and many other events. I also have written on health-related topics, women’s Extension Homemaker Clubs, the Freeman Army Airfield Museum, celestial occurrences, local food pantries, family dairy farms, local residents who were about to reach milestone birthdays and much, much more.

My job at The Tribune has allowed me to ​meet a lot of ​amazing people​ I wouldn’t have met otherwise and has given me the opportunity to learn a lot about our small town.

I’ll miss writing for The Tribune on a weekly basis and might contribute an article or two from time to time.

What I will miss the most is my Tribune family and I feel blessed to call each and every one of them my friend.

The advertising team is awesome, and we share a love of dogs. The circulation manager and I enjoy holiday decorating in the office and chatting about what’s new on Zulily. The gal at the front desk has been my partner in crime from Day 1, and as far as bosses go, I couldn’t have asked for any better.

I​’ve spent most days with my newsroom team in the “bullpen,” where we’ve shared a multitude of puns​ and dad jokes, ​enjoyed lots of celebrations, laughs and doughnuts and come to the conclusion that literally anything we talk​ about can be connected to a song.

I want to thank all of the people who have shared a piece of their life with me in an interview, those who have helped me with articles by providing information or resources and also a special thanks to our readers for letting me share the news with you.

As for what I’ll do next, retirement brings a glimmer of hope that I will finally get the garage cleaned out, spend more time with my family and finally finish the novels I started writing years ago.

​My last day at The Tribune will be bittersweet, for sure, and I’ll always be proud and grateful to have been a part of The Tribune family.