South of the James

Today marks the one-year anniversary of South of the James. It’s been quite a journey, and along the way, I’ve had the opportunity to meet and greet many of my favorite bloggers, political personalities, and fellow citizens. Though this is mostly a one-man show, I have also had the pleasure of publishing the work of several guest writers from across the Commonwealth’s political spectrum.

State-level players like Dr. Toni-Michelle Travis of George Mason University, Don Scoggins of the Frederick Douglass Republican Forum, and Josh Chernila of Raising Kaine (and now of the Jim Webb for Senate campaign) took the time and energy to create original work for me. Locally, the blog featured notable policymakers and advocates such as Dan Gecker, the Democratic Vice-Chairman of Chesterfield County Planning Commission; Rev. Mike Harton of the Responsible Growth Alliance of Chesterfield; Dr. Tom Pakurar of Hands Across the Lake; gadfly Shelly Schuetz of Go West Chesterfield; Larry Miller, former chairman of the Chesterfield County Republican Committee, and of course, the pseudonym-enhanced “Bubba,” a Richmond-area Republican leader. These folks all contributed intelligent commentary on a number of issues, and this blog would have merely been one man’s drivel had they not been around.

Going forward, the future of this blog is anyone’s guess for now. I’ll be stepping away for a bit to prepare for an upcoming leadership retreat, thus I my blogging during the next week or so is probably going to be silent around these parts. Looking further down the line, I’ve got some other projects that I’m exploring, along with pursuing some research that cries out for exploration and tackling a few books that have gathered dust for far too long. Plus, I have to get ready and set for Martinsville.

So, keep watching the aggregators to see when I post new things. Rest assured that I’m not going away, but a bit of a break will be quite nice. See y’all later.