Community Corner

Editor Says Fond Farewell, Thanks

Rick Burchfield is taking on a new role with Patch and wants to thank borough for embracing him and site.

They say it's never easy to say goodbye.

I'd say that's probably not 100 percent true. If you didn't enjoy something or someone, it probably wouldn't be too difficult.

Fortunately for me, I enjoyed covering Madison more than any of you could ever know. Unfortunately for me, that means it's not an easy column that I'm writing at this moment.

Find out what's happening in Madisonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Today marks my final day as Madison Patch editor. Starting immediately, I will be Associate Regional Editor/Regional Sports Editor serving the northern part of our state. What does that mean? It means I'll be helping Patch to grow and serve communities better across the board. It also hopefully means that you'll see the direct result of that, as Madison is part of the region I'll be putting that work toward helping.

But it also means that when it comes to the day-in, day-out operation of Madison Patch, it will be a new mug that appears at the top left corner of the screen. That mug will belong to Stuart Chirls, who I know will do a great job covering the Rose City. He's eager to get into the community (he already has started doing so) and I'm very confident he will do a great job with taking the site and continuing to develop it into an even greater resource for all of Madison's residents.

Find out what's happening in Madisonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Though I know Stuart is going to be great for the community, it doesn't make it much easier for me to bid adieu to the town I have served for a year by building the site from Day 1. Not being the one to go to all of the important meetings, events, breaking news, and just being in the borough every day is going to feel very odd at first.

But there's no way I'll ever forget being immersed in the community. Spreading mulch on and Madison High School helped bring out my green thumb. Tabling at was one of the more fun experiences I've had in my years as a journalist at an event.

Covering all of the news in town while speaking with the police, fire, government and education community proved a much more enjoyable experience than I could have imagined. Of course, I can never forget covering stories like the incident on , the  power outage, the argument over the Chatham , and the departure of the district's . And how could I forget one of the last events I covered, the football team's at Kean University.

Most of all, I'll always look fondly on the community and people of Madison. There are too many to thank individually, but it's probably a safe bet that if I have met you–in person or virtually–I'm speaking to you.

So, thank you again so much for embracing me and Madison Patch. The site is in good hands, and all of your tips and messages are still welcome. Stuart's contact information is stuart.chirls@patch.com and 973-204-9912.

And chances are you may still see me here and there in Madison. Maybe we can have a cup of coffee at .


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