From time to time, we get visitors in our office that will pull up a chair and spend a little time chatting.

Not long after I started at the Greenville Advocate, Chief Lonzo Ingram stopped in.

He welcomed me back home and then joked that before long we’d get rid of all these folks that aren’t from Greenville.

It looks like Chief was right.

We’re getting rid of one.

Well, that’s not exactly right.

We’re losing one, and even though he wasn’t born and raised in Greenville, we’ll claim him as one of our own.

We’d like to believe that during his stint at the Greenville Advocate Austin Nelson has become a Greenvillian at heart.

We’ll be saying goodbye to Austin soon. He’s accepted a promotion within our parent company and will become the news editor at the Alexander City Outlook.

I’ve only known Austin for a short time, but I’ve found him to be a hard worker that takes pride in doing a job well. He’s a team player who often goes above and beyond what is expected of him.

He has a good sense of humor, and doesn’t take himself too seriously. For instance, just a few weeks ago his chair slid out from under him. No one was sure whether or not to laugh. At least not until  Austin laughed at himself. Then we all had a good chuckle.

I’ve also found Austin to be genuine, which is a quality I greatly appreciate in others.

A former editor of mine and a good friend once told me that if I am ever in a position to hire people and I want to be successful, make sure I hire good people.

I didn’t have a thing in the world to do with Austin being hired at the Advocate, but given the chance I’d certainly hire him.

I believe the Outlook is getting a good editor, and more importantly a good person.

It’s a fantastic opportunity for Austin, and our staff is excited for him. At the same time, we will surely miss him.