Pepper: Thank you, Knox County, for believing in me

When I think about the last five years, I think about days like October 8, 2019.

I was standing behind the driving range at Apple Valley Golf Course on a sunny Tuesday afternoon, watching East Knox senior Drew Salyers prepare for his second and final trip to the state golf tournament, when I felt my phone buzzing in my pocket.

It was Knox County Prosecutor Chip McConville.

I’d called him earlier about a case his office was working on – probably the first high-profile case I covered from start to finish in Knox County – and this was him calling me back.

He was busy, and I didn’t know if he’d be available again the rest of the day. I had to take the call.

So, I did. I pulled out my notepad and my green Knox Pages pen, and sat down on the edge of the green, taking notes and talking in hushed tones through the phone lodged between my neck and my shoulder.

The content of this phone call is what I always think back to. It lasted roughly 15 minutes, and the vast majority of that time consisted of me, a 23-year-old reporter, asking the experienced county prosecutor what an “indictment” meant in the felony trial process.

Over, and over, and over again.

It’s not that I was trying to be annoying. I just didn’t want to mess it up. A big part of this job is not being afraid to ask dumb questions (you need to understand a topic before trying to convey it to the public), and boy, I’ve surely never been afraid of that.

Years later, I am still in awe of McConville’s patience that day.

He could have grown frustrated and cut the conversation short. He could have snapped. But he stuck with me.

Just like all of you have these last five years.

If you haven’t heard, my time in Knox County is coming to a close. I am leaving soon to pursue a new adventure, as the enrollment and outreach coordinator at the Delaware Area Career Center in Delaware, Ohio.

My first day there will be in early August. My last day at Knox Pages will be this Friday, July 21.

It’s an opportunity I’m truly excited about, and one I feel I’m prepared for because of my time here in Knox County. I will work with the district’s public information director to tell the DACC’s story, while also leading the district’s enrollment and outreach efforts, helping further connect the DACC to the community it serves.

I’m excited for a new chapter and a new beginning. It will certainly be a new kind of challenge.

Here’s the most important part: Knox County will not lose journalism as a result of my departure.

We are proud to announce that Cheryl Splain – our longtime news correspondent, with decades of experience covering this community, both for Knox Pages and the Mount Vernon News – will fill my position on the news side by stepping into a full-time role on our staff.

No one is better suited for this role than Cheryl. She has played a key role in our growth over the years, delivering timely and detailed coverage of city and county issues, and she has also served as a mentor to many in our newsroom, myself included. Her work ethic and reporting acumen are unrivaled in our community. I am thrilled she is stepping into this position.

We will also be hiring a part-time sports reporter this fall to maintain coverage of our local student-athletes. We’ll have more news on that soon, but know we’re in good hands there as well.

Today, however, I just wanted to say that I’m immensely grateful.

These last five years have been everything I’ve ever wanted out of journalism. The people, the stories, the impact. I have learned more and grown more in my time here than I ever could have imagined. It has been the honor of a lifetime to tell Knox County’s story.

I’d like to thank the team at Knox Pages and Source Media Properties for giving me the opportunity to live out my childhood dream. They took a chance on a young man from a small school in northwest Ohio, and I am eternally grateful they did.

This is a newsroom and company full of people who care deeply about the community they live in. They wake up every day dead-set on making a difference – armed with passion and purpose and the tools to win – and they do. I cannot begin to describe how rewarding it has been to work in this kind of environment, for this kind of team. What a run it has been.

And I’d like to thank you, Knox County. You took a chance on me, too.

I came here at 22 years old, straight out of college, in a completely new town, working for a news website many people still hadn’t heard of. And you treated me like I belonged.

You gave me time and space and respect when it wasn’t necessarily warranted. You believed in me deeply. You let me screw up and return the next day to try again. You challenged me. You celebrated my victories and supported our team in a way most communities don’t. You defended me viciously and loved me like your own.

I will never be able to describe what that has meant to me. I can only hope it showed through my work.

It’s an interesting thing, being a small-town reporter whose beat is, well, everything. You get to know a pretty good cross-section of the community – people from all walks of life, with all kinds of jobs and goals and missions, and with all kinds of beliefs.

I’ve come to realize that Knox County is not a perfect place. No place is. But it is full of people who get up every day and fight to make it better. It is full of people with big dreams and bright eyes and love in their hearts. It is full of people who work hard and sacrifice and do what’s needed – who are strong enough to get knocked down, get back up and keep on going.

It is full of people who, when push comes to shove, would do anything for their neighbors – regardless of how much they may disagree on everything else. It is full of people who are proud of where they’re from – who care deeply about where they live, and who they live there with.

And isn’t that paradise?

If I may leave you with one request, it’s this: Please be curious. Please enter each day with an open mind and an open heart, and please commit to listening to each other, especially those you don’t know or think you may disagree with.

Everyone has a story, and the more we learn about each other, the more we realize we have in common. And the more we can relate to, and empathize with, our neighbors, the stronger we become.

Thank you, once again, for believing in me. Thank you for working with me and trusting me to tell your story. Thank you for teaching me what it means to be a part of a community.

Thank you for five tremendous years. I will always be proud to say I got my start here, and I will always consider Mount Vernon and Knox County my adopted hometown.