For the last year I have had the distinct pleasure of serving the residents of southeastern Monmouth County as Local Editor of the Manasquan-Belmar Patch and today I announce that I will be moving on.

It's been quite an eventful year and I'd like to thank my supervisors, co-workers and most importantly, you the readers for your continued support in making Manasquan-Belmar Patch a success.

When I came to Patch, I was charged with bringing local news to an online platform. In a field where continued consolidation and association of content are the new realities, this was no easy task.

I took the challenge seriously and throughout the process I had one simple goal— to be there.

Whether it was a late night house fire on Easter Sunday, the disappearance of a young boy in the ocean off Bradley Beach or the onslaught of a massive hurricane, when news broke, readers knew that they could count on Manasquan-Belmar Patch to be on the scene.

One of my favorite journalists and authors, David Simon, spent a year embedded with the Baltimore Police Department before writing his true-crime masterpiece "Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets." In many ways, I attempted to echo Simon in my work at Patch. 

This was not, and was never intended to be, a job done from an office or a stuffy newsroom. The stories here were written in the back of coffee shops and delis— you could call it barstool journalism. If you read an article about an event on the beach, you could count on the fact that a reporter probably had to shake the sand out of their shoes before they sat down to write it. 

I will look back with fondness on my time with Patch and I won't soon forget the things I've seen, the stories I've written and the people I've met along the way.

I leave Manasquan-Belmar Patch in the very capable hands of Charlie LaPlaca. He's been a mainstay with us since the beginning, serving first as a freelance reporter and substitute editor before taking on Associate Editor duties that have included news and features throughout the area. If you are a regular reader of this site, you are undoubtedly familiar with his byline and the exemplary journalism that comes along with it.

A humble request of the readers— I ask only that you continue to support the site as you've done for the last year. Patch is a vital resource for an active and thriving community such as ours. Keep posting your events and announcements. Keep commenting on articles. Keep sending in story ideas and news tips and help us keep Patch growing!