It’s been an exciting and rewarding two years, Austin.

This week I accepted a promotion within our corporation to the general manager position at one of our other locations. And while I’m certainly looking forward to that challenge, I’m sincerely going to miss the staff and readers in Austin.

We’ve accomplished a lot in the last two years, from a major redesign to seemingly little things, like adding new weekly features (news obituaries, the public safety map, business blotter and more). All of those (and countless other “little” things) have added up to what I hope is now a better product for our readers and advertisers. We’ve hit some rough patches along the way (I now know to never use the word “poop” in a headline, even when dealing with geese) but overall I firmly believe that the Herald is a better product now.

But that’s not necessarily because of me.

The Herald has a very strong and talented staff, and there’s not a single person in the newsroom (even the columnist who occasionally takes shots at me) who doesn’t deserve their place here. The successes we’ve had over the last two years haven’t been because of some master plan that I put into place; rather it was the little things that each and every one of the reporters, photographers and section editors have done over that period. My biggest role in it has been putting the right people in the right places; and as I depart, I can confidently say that I’ve accomplished that.

Unfortunately, this move comes at a time of great change for the Herald. This week, we’re not only launching a new Web site, we’re also publishing the first issue of a new free Spanish-language publication. Both are things we started working on early this year, and I’m disappointed I’ll be leaving right before the launch of both — but that’s the way our business goes, and I know the staff will pull them off in my absence.

I leave Austin with nothing but positive words and fond memories of my time here. The community isn’t perfect, but then no place is. For every negative people like to grumble about this town, there are 20 positives, and I’m not just saying that.

Good luck to you all, and keep reading.

— Bryan