They say that a job well done is its own reward. After spending most of the summer working with my colleagues on this year's C-P football preview magazine and finally seeing it arrive with last week's paper, I have to say that I couldn't agree more with that sentiment.
For most sports editors throughout the Pine Belt, these annual preview magazines serve as our biggest opportunity of the year to shine a positive light on local athletes, coaches and football programs. It gives us the chance to dive a little deeper into all of the blood, sweat and tears that go into the development of each team during the offseason. It should never go unnoted that these are unpaid student athletes who voluntarily sacrifice their own free time in order to put a product on the field that their schools and communities can be proud of. For that reason, we take great pride in highlighting those efforts in our yearly previews.
For me, as a first-year sports editor for the C-P, putting together this year's edition served as an opportunity to learn more about our local football programs. I got to spend time with people from each school who play parts in carrying on all the Friday-night traditions that make high school football season such a special time of the year for Marion County. Traditions like these are what sparked my passion for covering sports in the first place, back when I was a young kid sitting in the bleachers with my dad and cheering on the Wayne County War Eagles. Each community has its own unique twists on those traditions, and I feel very lucky and excited to share that experience with you all over the next few months.
Of course, just as it takes a team effort to win football games on Friday nights, it takes a team effort to bring projects like this to life. Everyone on the C-P office helped in some capacity to ensure this would once again become a great product, and I'm grateful to work with a staff that truly cares about the way it represents our communities, schools and student athletes. Our publisher and former sports editor, Joshua Campbell, went above and beyond to assist me with this project and ensure it lived up to the standard of excellence that was established well before I arrived. Our incredibly talented graphic designer, Avery Lockwood, played a huge role in the creative process that made the magazine visually stunning, and Beth Riles did a wonderful job of highlighting the marching bands that add so much to the atmospheres at each and every game throughout the fall.
Along with my coworkers, I'd like to thank all of the coaches who welcomed us into their facilities and worked hand-in-hand with us to help gather content for each team. I'd also be remiss not to thank the countless advertisers who invested into this project and showed support for our local football programs. Your support means more than you could ever know, not only to us at the C-P but to the coaches and players who suit up each Friday night in the fall to represent you all in such an exciting way.
Long story short, I couldn't be more proud of how this year's magazine turned out, and I couldn't be more excited for the chance to highlight all of the incredible things our local teams will accomplish during the months to come. We hope you all will enjoy the content just as much as we enjoy bringing it to you, and I'm looking forward to a great year of high school football with all my new friends in Marion County.
Brad Crowe is sports editor of The Columbian-Progress. He may be reached at (601) 736-2611 or sports@columbianprogress.com
