Editor’s Voice

Longtime readers of the Severna Park Voice will remember this column, Editor’s Voice. When I took over as editor six years ago, I decided to reserve this space for more community news and event notices rather than what I considered to be my less-important ramblings. Well, this month I have something to share, something I consider to be somewhat important.

I am stepping down as editor of the Voice. It’s been a good run, 13 years total and six as editor. I met some fascinating people, stood on the sidelines as Severna Park and Broadneck teams won state championships, celebrated great triumphs for the community and talked to families after moments of profound loss.

The sum of those moments, good and bad, is more than I could have imagined when I took this job. That said, it’s time for someone else to take the reins of the editorial department. I am leaving that task in the capable hands of our assistant editor, Meredith Winter.

Many of our readers already know Meredith. She is kind, she is immensely talented, and she has worked tirelessly to improve our editorial processes and expand the ways in which we give back to the community. I can’t wait to see what she does as editor.

The paper also has great ownership from Dianna Lancione and the Lancione family. Dianna’s grandmother, a savvy go-getter named Margueritte Mills, started the newspaper 45 years ago. The Lanciones are deeply invested in the community and the Severna Park Voice. Along with the rest of the Voice’s dedicated team, they won’t miss a beat.

It’s hard for me to say goodbye without dramatizing what the last 13 years have meant to me. I will miss all the handwritten thank-you notes, the calls and emails, and the updates after a story helped a nonprofit recruit new volunteers or supported a fundraiser that collected money for a deserving cause. I never questioned the significance of what we do, because I always had so many caring readers to remind me.

That’s what “local” is all about. You look out for one another. I have seen evidence of that so many times over the last 13 years whether it was residents making masks for healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, neighbors forming a Fight For Phoebe group to aid a Severna Park girl with a life-threatening immunodeficiency, or donors stocking the many area food pantries so no one in the community went hungry.

I have experienced the generosity of so many people in this community, and this job has brought me tremendous joy. So, thank you all for reading and supporting the paper. Thank you all for sharing your stories, your tips and your passion. This area is a better place because of you.

Thank you for the memories. And thank you for helping us keep local journalism alive.