Of all the places I have lived across the country, my time in Nederland was the most memorable. The mountains are magical and beautiful, and the people are unique and rich in culture.

It was The Mountain-Ear newspaper that first brought me to Nederland. I started doing layout and design in June 2006. I have now worked in graphic design, communications, and desktop publishing for over 16 years.

I love making beautiful papers. I love making ads, formatting text, and completing tedious design tasks. Most of all, I love being a creative force behind such a great team.

In addition to design, I am very excited to also be once again contributing to the podcast. It is no secret that Peak to Peak is rich with people and places that are unique only to the area and it’s very exciting to be able to showcase this to others beyond just the weekly newspaper.

These days, I mostly reside along the prairie in Oklahoma but have been spotted in such places as the Keys in Florida, New Orleans, Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, and of course various spots in the great state of Colorado.

Over the last ten years, I have seen community newspapers face a lot of ups and downs. From the loss of ad revenue to increased costs in printing, production, and distribution, it seems the industry was hit from all sides. Through the hard work of our publisher and talented staff, The Mountain-Ear has made it through another year and even managed to grow in the process. As I think about all of the exciting things we have planned for the new year, I feel lucky just to be a part of it all.

Happy New Year everyone and may 2023 bring amazing things for us all.