I grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee before moving to Wedowee, Alabama in middle school. I graduated from Randolph County High School in Wedowee, where I played football, basketball and golf. My football coach was Ron Watters, who is now in the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and recently helped Handley go deep into the 4A playoffs as an assistant coach. I then attended The University of Montevallo and got on board with the News-Aegis and The Leeds News shortly after graduating.

I’ve been with both papers for two years now and when I started I was thankful to be able to help out with the sports sections. The current News-Aegis editor, Michael Mee, was the sports editor at the time and he allowed me to cover some games in the county on nights I wasn’t at another event.

We’re community papers and while we have some very kind and talented stringers who help us with photos and editorial content, it takes a big effort to cover the county evenly.

As a general reporter I got to do it all: council meetings, the police blotter, features and everything else along with the occasional sporting event. Don’t get me wrong; I enjoyed watching the wheels of our local government turn. But now, as I’ve always wanted, I get to cover sports as my job.

When you really care about something and you spend so much of your free time following that certain thing, it’s incredible when you are allowed to watch it and get paid. That’s how it is with sports and me. There is nothing else I’d rather do than watch games and take some notes and photos. I’ve met countless incredible people who have helped me along the way in this county while making sure I met the next person I needed to.

I’ll do my best as the sports editor here at the News-Aegis and The Leeds News to fill these pages with the finest coverage possible, and here’s where you come in: If you are at an event and see something or hear something, or just get an idea you’d like us to print, let me know. If you are a parent and you take a great picture at a game, send it on in. I’ll put it in the paper. If you or a family member takes down their first/big deer or turkey, send a picture.

I can’t be everywhere in the county, there are nights when four county schools are playing basketball at home and it’s hard to be at each venue. But if you’re there and don’t see me and you have some info, a picture or comment, call or email me.

Let’s get it started.