Editor’s note: The Journal staff is proud to have had Leslie work to make the paper better for the last two and a half years. We are pleased with the look she has brought to the paper and the improvement in the quality of the paper through her efforts. We are here for our readers. We are local. Our people live and contribute to this community. Leslie has also become part of this community through her efforts here at The Journal and we look forward to working with her in the future when she gets her little one settled in. Thank  you, Leslie for all you have done to make us better.

Leslie M.A. Kompara

To everything there is a season. As we transition from the heat of summer to the crisp cool of autumn, I find my life changing seasons as well. In January my husband and I will become first-time parents, and this is the final edition of The Journal for which I’ll serve as news editor before I start working full time on preparing for the baby.

During my tenure at The Journal I’ve worn many hats. You may have met me and my camera at the King George Farmers’ Market. You may have read my byline at the top of a story about volunteers at one of our local state parks. As a reporter and photographer I had the opportunity to get out into my new community and meet my neighbors.

But most of the time I was tucked away in a corner, behind a desk — and I hope it was my work behind the scenes that made the bigger impression on readers. In September 2009 we rolled out a redesign of the paper — including more consistent style and new fonts, which I hope increased readability and visual appeal.

Design wasn’t my focus in school. Editing is my passion. At The Journal I tried to have a hand in everything from initial assignments to story flow and structure to basic copy editing and proofreading. Consistent style and clear meaning are essential to providing the best product for readers.

It’s difficult to measure that kind of success; people usually only call or write to tell us what we’re doing wrong. But a small indicator we’re on the right track can be found in the Virginia Press Association awards The Journal earned for writing and photography — two in 2009 doubled to four in 2010.

The Journal isn’t a large, regional daily paper with the resources of an operation of that size. Sometimes we honestly don’t have a warm body to send out to cover a story. And sometimes we plain old miss things. We’re not perfect, but we’re invested in and committed to the people and things we cover.

The staff consists of men and women who shop at the local businesses that advertise in our pages, who are personally affected by the goings-on at supervisors’ meetings. Each staff member is also a stakeholder in the community, which makes us unique and uniquely equipped to cover King George and Westmoreland counties.

It’s been three years since Brian and I married and moved from Northeast Ohio to Virginia. We left our friends, family and a tough economy for Brian’s new job in Dahlgren. It’s been a big adjustment, and the decision to buy a house in King George wasn’t the easiest. Many people who are employed in the county choose to raise their families in and around Fredericksburg. However, I believe wholeheartedly in living where you work, and the things I’ve learned and the people I’ve met through The Journal have convinced me this county is moving in the right direction.

There are passionate, intelligent, hard-working people who have made their homes here — whether they’re “been heres” or “come heres”  — and they’re invested in making a future for not only their kids, but their neighbors’ kids as well. I look forward to seeing what the future holds for both my family and my community.