Opinion: Goodbyes tough, but say hello to new publisher

Goodbyes can be difficult. I’ve learned that I’m so much better at hellos.

Today marks the start of my last week as publisher at Clovis Media. My family and I arrived in eastern New Mexico a little more than three years ago. The communities here were extraordinarily welcoming, and we’ve made some great friends over that span.

My life in journalism has taken me on an exciting voyage that has included Delaware, St. Louis, upstate New York, two cities in North Carolina, Las Vegas, Nebraska and New Mexico. I grew up not far from the beaches in Delaware, enjoying Dewey Beach and Rehoboth Beach as a kid and still today on visits home to visit family.

That lifestyle left an indelible mark on me.

My wife, Tina, and I have talked for years — make that decades — about eventually landing in a coastal community. You can say it’s been a dream for us, living and breathing that beach way of life. An opportunity has come up that checks all of those boxes and, as they say, made it impossible to turn down.

I have accepted a job as publisher of The Sea Coast Echo in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. It’s a town that sits right on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, between New Orleans and the Gulfport/Biloxi metro area. We’ll have daily views of the sand and water from our new living room and as we drive along Beach Boulevard.

In Clovis, a successful transition has already begun. David Stevens, who has been the editor of the paper since 2001, will be the new publisher. Another longtime staffer, Kevin Wilson, has been promoted from managing editor to editor and will oversee much of the newsroom duties.

Readers and advertisers can feel confident that things are in good hands with this duo who have more than 50 years of journalism under their combined belts.

The owners of Clovis Media — Gary and Sue Stevenson and Garry Ellis — have been incredible folks to work for over the past four-plus years at their newspaper operations in Nebraska and New Mexico. I’ve learned a lot from them over that stretch and will be forever grateful for the opportunities they gave me.

While in Clovis, I worked with several big contributors to our local success. Besides David and Kevin, department heads such as Joyce Cruce, Cindy Cole, Shawn Luscombe and Annie Stout have been tremendous assets to our team. Kudos go out to them for all of the hard work they do each and every day to make our business successful.

So before we venture about 1,000 miles to the southeast, I want to thank everyone in Clovis, Portales and all of the surrounding communities for being enthusiasts of newspapers. I appreciate all of the love and support you’ve given to an industry I’m passionate about.

Now it’s off to our new adventure.

Rob Langrell is the publisher of The Eastern New Mexico News. Contact him at: [email protected]