By Adam Eisenbarth
Thanks Rimbey, it’s been fun.
If you didn’t already know, this week marked my last with the Rimbey Review.
More than 150 stories later, it’s over.
Now as I prepare to head to the University of Calgary where I will begin my pursuit of a communications degree, I have been reflecting on a rather intriguing summer that involved feel good stories and of course its share of controversies.
It all started in late April and didn’t take long to see the values that this community has, as I covered the well-attended Volunteer Appreciation Night. From there I knew there are many great people in this town.
The long drives from east of Lacombe were well worth it for the experience and the opportunity to participate in the pleasant communities in this area. I hope you have been satisfied with the Rimbey Review in my time reporting for the paper.
It wasn’t exactly smooth sailing out of the gate. After hearing a number of concerns regarding the newspaper, I was beginning to wonder just what I got myself into. After a few weeks however, I understood that all this community expects is a reporter who is open to attending events and taking a real interest in the happenings of the town. Soon enough, the positive feedback had me feeling that I was serving the community in a satisfactory way.
The positive feedback is always nice to make a person feel good, and I really appreciated those, but I also appreciated the constructive, negative feedback I received.
Those comments are the only way for me to improve as a reporter and they also showed to me that people care about their community and newspaper, which I respect.
Though recent letters to the editor have been debated for their negativity, I encourage people to continue voicing their concerns to the public. It’s your right as a citizen. While I agree that council deserves to be notified personally of your concerns, I also see value in notifying the public of issues that you may see in this town.
While I was disappointed to see that one councillor seemed to feel I lacked the skills for the job, I realize that, especially as a 21-year-old reporter, it’s part of the job. At the end of the day I know that I took my job seriously and did what I could to balance quality and quantity to the satisfaction of readers.
Though that same councillor referred to reporters like myself as “inexperienced” I should point out that few reporters with more experience than I, are looking for work at a town of about than 2,500 people. That’s just the way the industry is. The Rimbey Review is the fourth newspaper I have written for and I feel I had ample experience for this position.
I encourage everyone to embrace our new reporter, Bromley Chamberlain, and welcome her to this community.
I wish this town the best as you approach what appears to be an interesting election.