I have spoken to Jim (Wright) - so he knows this is coming, but I am writing to all of you today with news that I will have to resign my position on the board. I have accepted a job with a defense and industry consultancy firm to be their director of media technology. I thought long and hard on this - it is not easy to get the ink out of your blood after 17 years - but it is a great job opportunity. My last day at The Dothan Eagle is Jan. 31.

I'm sure you will ask for recommendations from MRE members for my replacement, and if it is all right, I would like to recommend Trista Talton with the Wilmington Morning Star. For those who do not know her, Trista was a Fellow with several of us at the Knight Center when Sig and Jim gave birth to MRE. I know she wants to play an active role in the organization - and I think she would be a good representative for smaller newspapers.

If you consider having a program for smaller markets during the annual conference on something like - You don't have to think small just because you are small - I would love to serve on the panel and share my experiences. There are a lot of reporters who don't realize they are not limited to just writing about troop deployment - they can actually travel to where they are deployed.

Even though I may not have an active role in MRE, I'll still be an associate member and will do whatever I can to support this organization. I am so proud to have been associated with all of you over the past few months.

Sincerely,
Lee Ann Smith

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