By SUZANNAH COUCH, editor

On the seventh anniversary of my time working as a reporter-photographer for the Brown County Democrat, I was offered the job as editor.

The next day I accepted.

Some of you may know me and some of you may not. You may have noticed me at various events with a camera around my neck and notebook in hand or in a meeting typing away over the last seven years.

I am no stranger to this newspaper or this community. I have called Brown County home for 31 years. I live on property that has been in my family for seven generations now with no plans to leave. My hope is to build myself a home on our family property, further planting my roots here.

I moved away to attend Franklin College and I spent some time in Washington, D.C., for an internship, but Brown County has always been home.

I graduated from Brown County High School in 2009 before pursuing a degree in news editorial journalism from Franklin College where I graduated cum laude in 2013 with a minor in political science.

I started working at The Democrat in 2014. But even then I was no stranger to this newsroom, as I landed an internship here through the Hoosier State Press Association and then returned again to cover for an employee who was on leave before graduating college.

During my time here I have had the opportunity to grow as a reporter under former editor Sara Clifford. I covered a variety of beats, from arts and entertainment, to crime, to county government and everything in between with her guiding me along the way.

I learned how to be a leader from Sara by watching her in action. She listened to her team and valued our input into this newspaper. We worked together to bring this community the most fair and unbiased news we could. And we have the awards to prove it. Most recently, members of the Brown County Democrat’s news staff earned 22 awards from the Hoosier State Press Association Foundation in its 2021 Better Newspaper Contest.

Sara will be missed more than words can describe, but I do not take the honor of filling her shoes lightly. I am ready for the challenge of stepping into this role of leadership in our community and continuing to grow.

I want this community to know that it is truly an honor to begin managing this newspaper and continuing the legacy of being a trusted and valued news source in this county.

In the age of social media and an overall distrust of media, I find this job is more important now than ever before. But to make this newspaper successful, we need this community’s help.

Our email inbox, phone lines and door are always open for news tips or story ideas you want to see covered in your newspaper. We want to hear from you when we get it right and when we get it wrong. We will grow together during this time of transition.

My journalistic time in Brown County has truly come full circle. My first editor job was at The Talon newspaper at Brown County High School. I later became executive editor of The Franklin, the weekly newspaper at Franklin College.

I am even more excited to welcome Abigail Youmans as our new reporter-photographer. Abigail worked as our advertising and news coordinator, taking over for the legendary Keith Fleener along with covering a variety of news and feature assignments.

Abigail and I were both born and raised in Brown County. She, too, loves this community and I have no doubt she will cover this county with the best intention and journalistic integrity. We will make a great team as we work together to cover every angle with accuracy and a commitment to informing our community on what is important to them.

We are in the process of hiring an employee to replace Abigail and that person will be the one answering the phones or greeting a visitor to the newsroom. This is truly a period of transition and we ask for your patience as we establish ourselves as a new staff.

If you have a story idea you want to see covered in the newspaper, please do not hesitate to reach out. We are a small, but mighty staff and we try to cover every event, meeting and story idea we can.

We are also always looking for columnists to contribute guest opinions. If you like writing about the outdoors, arts and entertainment, or have some good stories to share from your time in Brown County, please email me at [email protected].

I grew up reading The Democrat. I loved reading the sheriff’s log at a young age. My mom said back then I would work for the Federal Bureau of Investigations because I was so nosy, but I think being a journalist was the best career choice for a nosy kid who enjoyed reading about current events.

I will still see you around at events and I plan to still cover some meetings as editor. Abigail will be taking my place at the media desk for others.

Lastly, please remember, we are humans. No matter how much I wish for it, I have not yet been granted super powers. Mistakes will be made and lessons will be learned, but no matter what, we will be here for you, Brown County.