I never was a big New Year’s Eve kind of a guy.

Although it likely won’t take until midnight, I will be spending New Year’s Eve day at the office, cleaning out my final load of “stuff.”

Maybe for once I will stay up to midnight, ringing in 2016 as a year of growth, change and new life goals.

Holy cow, this all still seems kind of surreal.

Is this really happening?

As Publisher L. Alan Cruikshank pointed out at our Christmas luncheon, when I first walked in the office back in 1983 I had a full beard (brown in color) and a full head of hair (an afro, mind you, again brown in color).

What the heck happened?

Obviously much has happened the last 32 years, and with God’s blessing perhaps I’ll enjoy at least another 32 years of good health and doing other stuff besides cranking out a newspaper every week.

A big thank you goes out to Alan – and a sweet gentle old guy named Arthur Hewitt – for giving me that chance 32 years ago. The on-the-job training paid off for all of us, I would say, as most of my working adult life to now has revolved around this weekly newspaper and its operations.

I made my fair share of mistakes, of course, but I’ve also won writing and other awards that I never thought possible as a naive newbie walking into a newspaper office with no journalism experience.

I’ve stayed here all these years because I love Fountain Hills and I fell in love with community journalism. I’ve literally written thousands of features, sports stories, news stories, obituaries, editorials, columns, fun pieces, you name it. How many photos have I snapped? Countless.

Overall I’ve seen many good decisions made over the years by government officials and others. Have seen a lot of progress, a lot of good things.

It’s not been ALL peaches and cream, mind you, but we don’t tend to dwell on those things, do we? I have definitely seen some real bone-headed moves over the years…

This job has allowed me to get involved in the community in so many ways – and hopefully to make a positive difference. I’ve gotten involved with a town commission, youth sports, Kiwanis and many other community-oriented events and programs because of my job as newspaper editor.

I would like to think that Fountain Hills and this newspaper are both a little bit better because of what I’ve accomplished, but I will leave that to others to judge…

Yet 2016 and beyond still beckon. I will start training for a new financial career with Thrivent. We will remain in Fountain Hills and stay active in the community. I look forward to being a newbie again (sort of) and the challenge of a new business venture.

I’ll miss the hustle and bustle of the paper – at least getting the scoop on most things – but there are a few things I won’t miss either!

Readers, thank you for letting me be thrown on your driveway for years and years. I know I’ve ended up in a few bird cages and wrapped around some fish, but hey, you can’t please everyone…It’s been my privilege.

So, here is a New Year’s Eve toast to the last 32 years and to 2016 and beyond. Salud!