The change in weather and temperature between Friday and Saturday was nearly drastic enough to make me reminisce about my years living in Nebraska. Especially as the stiff and brisk Saturday morning wind made me long for my years of having hair on the top of my head.

Nonetheless, the Nicholasville Rotary Club pancake breakfast fundraiser was a successful venture for us, and an enjoyable time for everyone who stopped by for a syrupy plate of tastiness to enjoy while listening to local music duo The Moron Brothers. It turned out that banjo music and flapjacks go together like a global service club raising money for a local cause and community members that support those clubs supporting their community.

I would like to thank my fellow Nicholasville Rotarians who bundled up on Saturday morning and took part in the event, putting service above self. Congratulations to my fellow award winners at Monday’s meeting as well!

It is that community spirit and that desire to retain the smaller-town identity that has made Nicholasville become so endearing to me since I started with The Jessamine Journal back in September of last year. I look forward to having the towns of Nicholasville and Wilmore grow on me more and more as my local involvement increases after accepting my new roles here helping cover the news content of the Journal and taking the editorial reigns of the new Jessamine Life magazine.

This comes on the heels of returning to My Old Kentucky Home in 2015 after living 24 years in Nebraska, where I was an editor, publisher and co-owner of a weekly newspaper in a small county in the middle of the state. I was proud to know that I was not only helping keep one of the three oldest businesses in Valley County alive and well, but actually making a newspaper that began in 1882 grow in terms of quality and readership.

I love weekly community newspapers, and I am the biggest champion there is for the role they play. We live in a world where the pace grows forever faster, and communication moves at the speed of a finger swiping across the screen of a phone. Unfortunately, we have seen that the information contained in much of that communication trades quality and integrity for speed and convenience. In my opinion, this is a shame and a scary path to start down. Newspapers are needed today more than ever, and I hope to help offer that here at the Journal.

So it goes without saying that I am excited to start this new chapter of my career with an esteemed newspaper like the Jessamine Journal. I am equally excited to be on the ground floor of the new Jessamine Life magazine, which I know everyone will enjoy and start looking forward to seeing around the community.

Speaking of the Moron Brothers, look for a feature on the comedic duo in the inaugural issue, Summer 2017, coming this May.

In closing, I hope everyone enjoys this issue and each one forthcoming of The Jessamine Journal and keeps an eye open for Jessamine Life!