Farewell, For Now

Hello out there,

It is with great sadness that I must announce this will be the last day I publish the South Kingstown Patch.

For the past 13 months, the South Kingstown Patch has been my wake up, my project, my life’s work. I have to say it’s been one of the most exciting years of my life, filled with many ups and downs, triumphs and tragedies.  With help from our steadily increasing base of readers, we have grown from a modest website into a fixture of the South County news scene. Our platform is founded on a base of solid community journalism, but it also allows for exciting elements of local news, quality pictures and videos you often see in national news outlets, to be at your fingertips. 

Being the editor of a local news website was hardly the place I imagined myself when I began my career as a beat reporter at the Narragansett Times in 2009, but Patch has shown me the value of a platform that not only reports the news but also allows the community to actively partake in the process.  Over the past year I have had the opportunity to work with amazing journalists, talented and passionate citizens, and countless others who have helped to shape the site into what it is today.

The Patch platform empowers the community to contribute, to shape the day’s news picture, and to feature the work they do to make South Kingstown great as well.  This Patch site has always been your site, and I hope you will take a look at it with fresh eyes each day and ask yourself “what can I do to make my Patch site better?” Contribute your photos, make your voice heard in the comments, or consider starting a blog of your own right on our site.  You can tip us off, follow us on Facebook and Twitter, or work with us to post as well.

There is no limit to what the South Kingstown Patch can do, and I believe whoever will replace me will continue to show you that. For now, Associate Regional Editor Patrick Luce will be your guide until a permanent replacement is found.

Though I have been a journalist by trade, many of you know that one of my truest passions is public service. I have worn many hats in that field, working as an ocean lifeguard in Narragansett and Westerly for the past eight years, teaching community-level first aid and CPR for the Red Cross, and volunteering with the Snug Harbor Fire Department here in South Kingstown. I will be making that passion my full-time career as a firefighter for the city of Newport beginning next month, and will not be able to continue my duties as a full-time editor.

Though I may be closing the book on my term as Editor of the South Kingstown Patch, it is my desire to remain on board as a contributor as often as possible.  And of course, I will still be around town in various capacities. I believe in the vision of Patch as a leader in the new world of digital journalism, and I will continue to help spread its message.   I wish you all the happiest of holidays, and farewell for now.

Sincerely,

Carl P. Critz

You can follow Carl Critz on twitter @WordOfCritz, or send him an email at Carl.Critz@gmail.com