When I started as publisher of the Redmond Reporter in August of 2007, little did I know how sad it would be to say goodbye four years later.

The paper was in quite a transition when I started. The King County Journal daily newspaper and all it’s community papers (including Redmond Reporter) had recently been acquired by Sound Publishing. No one really knew what to expect.

Thank you Redmond for being patient with us as we reinvented ourselves and found a way to stay relevant to the needs of this community.

I’ll never forget the first irate call I got from a reader.

It was from an 86-year-old lady living in Emerald Heights and she was furious that we had not run the sudoku puzzle that week.  I had to assure her that it was only pulled because we had a late breaking bank robbery and it would be back the following weeks. Then there were the readers who called to find out why they had not received their paper that week, or why they had received a paper. Either way there was never a really good answer.

However, the calls, e-mails and letters I loved to get were those telling us what a great job we had done covering a particular issue or event.

I don’t think folks realize that our news team consists of an editor and only two reporters. With that very small staff we are able to cover sports, schools, local government, the business community as well as breaking news stories.

In addition, our four-person sales and production team does an amazing job of procuring advertisers and producing ads. They are a hard working crew and I can’t thank them enough for making me look good every week. During my time here at the Reporter, the staff produced award-winning editorials and advertisements.

The thing I enjoyed most about joining the Redmond Reporter was the welcome I received from the Redmond community when I started as the new publisher.

It was not very long before I joined the board of the Greater Redmond Chamber of Commerce. From there I connected with all the local business and civic leaders. They are a passionate group of people who truly want to see Redmond continue to thrive and are looking for ways to improve how we grow as a community.

Partnering with the City of Redmond as a sponsor of Redmond Lights, as well as sponsoring Movies at Marymoor were a few of the important events each year. However, the event I am most proud of is our annual Women in Business networking event, which we sponsor along with Redmond Town Center, I-Pic Theatre and Trade Chic. It grew from a featured section in the paper, into an annual event attended by 80-plus women. What made the event extra special is that it benefited the YWCA Working Wardrobe program.

Looking back, it’s been a great experience, and prepared me for the next phase of my life, which is running my own family business.

Thank you so much to my amazing staff who always rose up to all challenges.

Thank you to my boss for allowing me to run this paper as if it were my own business.

And finally thank you Redmond for embracing me and allowing me to grow with you.

I will miss you all.

Andrea Southern will be leaving the Redmond Reporter after four years as the publisher.