This isn't going to be easy for either of us, Bonnyville. But I'm just going to come out and say it. I'm leaving you.
The past four-plus years have been amazing – I've learned so much about you. I've got to know your friends. I care about your hobbies and interests. I really do like you. So, believe me when I say this: It's not you. It's me.
Although the rumours about my departure may have been circulating between us for a while now, as we are all aware, nothing is true until it's written in the newspaper. So, here it is: the real story.
At the end of this week, my time with the Bonnyville Nouvelle will come to a conclusion. My partner and I will be moving what's left of our belongings to a small, century-old home, in the heart of Victoria, BC, where she will continue her studies at the University of Victoria, while I will carry on writing in various capacities.
Looking back, Bonnyville, I can still remember the first time we met. It was about a decade after our family moved from Saskatchewan to Cold Lake, during my elementary school days, when the region's only pool was in Bonnyville and in order for us youngsters to experience unfrozen swimming water in the spring, fall and winter months, we needed to be packed up and bused half an hour to the west. What a blast.
Before moving to Bonnyville to start my life as a paid writer, though, I had to first go off and rack up some knowledge, experience and student loan debt. After a few years of writing what seemed like an unending number of essays for professors and short stories for the university's student paper, it seemed time to move into the world of being paid to write, rather than what at times felt more like paying to write.
In the summer of 2010, the Bonnyville Nouvelle graciously took me in, and under the guidance of Canadian Press Style and then-publisher Clare Gauvreau, I gradually grew into the writer and journalist I am today.
But it wasn't just my time at the Nouvelle that highlights my years in Bonnyville. Some of the greatest memories I've made include the people I've met along the way.
It would be a struggle to start to name names, without naming them all, and in the newspaper industry, we have word limits for a few reasons – to avoid rambling on being one of them. But to those who have come and gone during my time here, thank you for everything you have done for me and the community – your spirit, Bonnyville, has always amazed me.
Although change can sometimes be difficult, it can also be a blessing and a chance to re-assess, and often improve things.
The Bonnyville Nouvelle is fortunate to have developed such a strong core of staff that strive not only to get an accurate paper out each week, but also care deeply about this community.
While the newspaper industry as a whole is evolving and perhaps will be unrecognizable as such in just a few years, the community newspaper – the entity relied upon for coverage of everything from breaking national news right here in town, to the local peewee football team, to meeting after meeting after meeting, or, when we're lucky, a shoreline cleanup – remains a valuable fixture for rural regions, towns and small cities across Canada.
The Nouvelle is not going anywhere. As I said, it's just me. I do believe the paper will continue to be a trusted information source, voice of authority, and an open forum for this community.
