For the last two years and four months (to the dot), I’ve called Great Neck a second home. I often joked that I am here often enough to feel like I live here, whether it’s attending a community street fair or the several meetings all around the peninsula.
But as the students of the North, South and Village schools have graduated and are preparing for their next chapter, so am I. This edition was my final newspaper, as my last day is July 26. Somebody will be succeeding me as the reporter for the Great Neck News.
Every week I tried to do as much as I could, make more awkward phone calls than I could count, and write thousands upon thousands of words in the process. Some were on the record. Many of them were off. I’ve sought to verify nearly impossible things, follow up waves of leads, and tell stories that matter.
You’ve allowed me to write several first drafts of local history. I cannot begin to fathom how many hours some people have given to me on every topic imaginable. At the same time, I have been able to enjoy some of the great things that Great Neck has to offer: a vibrant park system, a lively school district, a unique spiritual experience and, among some activists, a level of passion that I can only envy.
As hard as I tried, I could not split myself into quarters, be everywhere and know everything, no matter how many hours or days I tried to put in (almost always more than 40, often more than 50). Great Neck gave me no shortage of things to talk about, good and bad. There were times when I have felt, to put it mildly, overwhelmed.
But in my search for meaning in news events, I felt a sense of meaning in my own words – which is priceless – thanks to you. Most of you helped me keep going. All your feedback, both negative (less so) and positive made the work worth it.
I’m not sure yet who will replace me. But if my colleagues Tom McCarthy, Teri West, and Jessica Parks are any indicator of the people who are hired here, I think you’ll be in good hands. I will miss them and most of you dearly.
Because of all this and more, my decision to leave was both personally bittersweet and difficult to make. Thank you for everything. Whether it’s vitalizing a downtown or closing rifts between each other, I wish Great Neck nothing but the best.
For the foreseeable future I will still be on Long Island, just on a different shore. If you want, feel free to keep in touch. My email is janelleaclausen@gmail.com.
Goodbye for now, Great Neck – and thanks again.
Janelle Clausen
Reporter, Great Neck News
Wantagh
