It is time to sadly say goodbye to Sippican Week Editor Georgia Sparling and happily welcome new Sippican Week Editor Andrea Ray.

Georgia joined our staff five years ago as Sippican Week/SippicanVillageSoup.com reporter, arriving from Mississippi and diving into all things tri-town. Last spring she stepped up into the editor’s post, from which she has ably steered our ship.

But this edition is our last with Georgia at the helm. As of next Monday, April 10, she is off to her next challenge: a communications position at Lesley University in Cambridge. While we have no doubt that Georgia will succeed as brilliantly there as she did here, she will be missed – by others at our company and by the community.

Since writing is near the top of her list of many talents, her farewell to you – in her words – can be found below.

Succeeding Georgia will be another talented writer who many in the community may know in other contexts. Andrea Ray is a Rochester native and proud graduate of Rochester Memorial School and Old Rochester Regional High School.

From ORR, Andrea went on to Mount Holyoke College, graduating in 2013 with a degree in International Relations and minor in French. Pursuing her international interest, she worked for three years at Road Scholar in Boston, helping to plan and provide educational experiences for world travelers.

Throwing in the towel on commuting to Boston from her Rochester home, Andrea began news reporting and joined our company at the beginning of this year. In her three months with us, she has served as the reporter for Wareham Week – while providing some good tri-town news tips to the Sippican staff.

Beginning Monday, she gets to focus on Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester full-time, joining reporter Tanner Harding in our Front Street office in Marion.

As of Saturday, editor@sippicanweek.com will get you to Andrea – who invites you to e-mail or call (774-766-7706) with any tips, suggestions, etc.

In Andrea’s words: “Georgia is definitely a tough act to follow, but I’m excited to be working in the tri-town. I’ve spent most of my life in there – riding horses, going to the beach, reading about local history and working behind various counters. I look forward to meeting everyone, whether it is for the first time or the 50th, and encourage you to reach out, make comments on stories, and throw ideas at me. I’m always happy to respond.”

So . . . Farewell Georgia! Welcome Andrea! We think the community will continue to be well served.

–Anne Eisenmenger, Publisher

Here I go again on my own

After five years as the reporter and now editor of Sippican Week, I’m off to a new job! But it won’t be easy to leave Sippican Week. When I first came the paper was barely a year old and everyone assumed I worked at a certain other tri-town paper.

Moving to Mattapoisett was a big change. For one, I had no idea what selectmen and town meetings were. I also didn’t know how to go about sussing out new stories or how to navigate Rochester with no GPS or functioning odometer. (Thankfully I am now in possession of a newer car and a phone with Google maps.)

But, I found that the people of the tri-town are pretty nice folks, willing to help me and just about anybody with a need.

I’m so thankful for how the residents here have embraced the newspaper and our goal of sharing your stories and happenings.

It’s been such a joy to sit down and interview many of you about your experiences, from a Rochester taxidermist to a Mattapoisett neurologist turned artist.

I hope you won’t stop emailing and calling the Sippican Week staff. I have a lot of confidence in our reporter Tanner Harding and the new editor, a Rochester native (!), Andrea Ray.

– Georgia Sparling, Editor (for a few more days)