Editor Says Goodbye To Ballwin-Ellisville Patch

After almost three years of telling you what was moving into that vacant retail space or what was closing up shop, the time has come to share news that strikes closer to home for me.

Tuesday October 15 is the last day on the job for St. Louis-area editors of Patch.com.

The sites are not closing. You're still encouraged to write a blog if you choose, or post an announcement or an event on our calendar as a way to get the word out to your friends and neighbors. Articles like this one, which use data to tell you more about Ballwin and Ellisville, will still be here too. And you'll still receive daily newsletters. Beyond that, I don't have a whole lot more to say as far what will happen moving forward. If I find out, I'll pass it on.

But it is important for me to use this time to look back.

I've only been your Local Editor here in Ballwin and Ellisville for a few months, but I think I can safely say for Chase Castle, Bryanna Hampton, Julie Brown Patton and Frank Johnson, who at times have all stood watch in this space, that our time has been a fun adventure.

Our mission was to provide local coverage of the people, places and things of interest to you. We were here to tell you about what was going on around these parts, including stories which often didn't get covered by the other local news outlets.

It isn't easy to embrace the new guy, and even today, I hear from people who say, "What's Patch?" But, by and large, you have, and for that, I'm grateful. You've seen me working on the laptop at Starbucks, The St. Louis Bread Company, or some other spot with wifi, and said hello. You've asked how my family was doing, offered congratulations on the birth of my son, or retweeted a story. For all of that, I'm grateful.

I want to thank those of you who have made time for an interview over the years. The high school coaches and student-athletes, city officials, and business owners. I especially want to recognize the people who understood that sometimes our job meant needing to tell stories that weren't going to be particularly flattering about them or their organization. It didn't color the relationship on stories moving forward, which I think says something about them, and I hope what they thought they were getting by dealing with us.

I also want to thank anyone who ever posted a blog, or an announcement. In addition to the local news component, our goal was to help people with tools to connect them with their neighbors. Again, keep on doing that.

Finally, I have to thank some very important people who have helped me along this journey. An extraordinarily talented group of other editors in the St. Louis region, who have all helped eachother through thick and thin. We have been honored to have had the responsibility for being plugged into our communities over these three years. I don't know what the future holds except to say that it will be here in St. Louis. I'm a better journalist for having worked with this group of people here and in service to you.

All The Best, 
Gregg Palermo
Senior Local Editor

Follow me on Twitter @GreggPalermo