The ending of a life chapter is always bittersweet, even if we’re taught from a young age that change is inevitable.

This Thursday marks two weeks since the end of my time as a sports anchor and reporter at WOAY-TV in West Virginia. When I posted the news publicly to social media, I began with the phrase “the last seven years have been a great experience for me….” I meant every word of that. I was able to learn about the business, and I learned a great deal about myself as well.

Even though it’s been seven years, I still remember my very first day at WOAY vividly: January 29, 2015. My colleague and I covered the Big Atlantic Classic, one of the top high school basketball showcases in West Virginia. The very next night marked my on-air debut, and two nights after that, my first two traditional 6 PM & 11 PM sports blocks.

13 months later, when my colleague left for another opportunity and I was approached about being promoted to Sports Director, I was apprehensive about being able to meet the standard he had set. That self-doubt lingered for several months afterward, and even after I had grown more comfortable into the role I would always have “come back to Earth” thoughts, wondering if I was doing right by the various communities in Southern West Virginia.

One of the highlights of my seven years was, without question, the many events I was fortunate to cover. From being on the field for ACC & Big 12 college football games, to a PGA Tour event that featured big names including Tiger Woods. I only covered nine Virginia Tech football games in-person, but all of them seemed to have some deeper meaning attached: the “Battle at Bristol” with Tennessee, the largest attendance for a college football game in history; two home games against defending national champions; the epic six-overtime thriller with North Carolina in 2019.

I was also able to cover various high school sports, including multiple state champions. Maybe it’s because they didn’t occur as often as opposed to schools in other markets around the state, but a state championship always brought out special emotions from the communities involved. I hope I was able to spread that joy to viewers. Another notable event was World TeamTennis, one of the first US-based sports to allow fans back in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

So what’s next for me? I am actively pursuing new opportunities in the sports media industry. It’s been my lifelong dream to be a sports anchor, and I have no intention of giving that up. One thing I do want is to post more frequently on this site, something I did not do very often since I’ve been Sports Director. Whether it’s about sports topics or news topics, I want to write more.

As they say in television, stay tuned…….