Patch Editor Sean McCullen Says Goodbye

Well, Friday is my final day here—I'm out as Gloucester Township Patch editor.

In the two-plus years since I came to Gloucester Township, I've learned a lot about this town. Some good, some bad. To be honest, despite growing up in nearby Waterford Township, all I really knew about Gloucester Township before I started with Patch was that it was home to Camden County College's main campus and a Superfund dump, and that my cousin and my aunt and uncle lived here.

I've come to learn Gloucester Township is full of great people, as well as political intrigue—to put it mildly—some very good youth and high-school athletics programs, and, unfortunately, some not-too-bright criminals.

No offense to its editorial operation—like most in this business, they've been destroyed by budgetary constraints and seemingly endless staff cuts—but the Courier-Post really hasn't covered Gloucester Township as it should in a long, long time.

Patch is a great fit here.

Gloucester Township residents want local news. That much is evident. Our Facebook page's "likes" grew from zero in mid-November 2010 to 1,830 as of 11:30 Thursday night. On Twitter, we grew from zero followers to 537 followers.

I'm proud of the way I've been able to use Patch to inform residents of things they likely never would've heard about without such a platform.

For the past two-plus years, my freelance team and I have brought you stories on everything from crime, to township issues, to school events, to youth sports.

Rest assured, all of that will continue even with me moving on.

The South Jersey Patch staff will take on Gloucester Township, continuing to bring you all the great news, columns, blogs, photos, announcements and calendar events we've brought you each day since Dec. 6, 2010. It promises to be an interesting 2013 here, to say the least, with Mayor Dave Mayer running for re-election.

As for me, I'm moving to Brooklyn, NY, to live with my girlfriend—the unquestioned love of my life—after about two-and-a-half years of doing the long-distance relationship thing.

There are many, many people to thank for helping me make Gloucester Township Patch what it was during my time here.

First and foremost, I'd like to thank you—our readers. And, yes, I even thank those of you who will no doubt be writing "good riddance" comments below.

There's also our freelance and blogging team, especially Eric Schwartz, who ran sports coverage for me the past year and a half or so; Mike Monostra, who often served as the site's guest editor when I was away; Paul DiBartolo, who knows I disagreed with 90 percent of his opinions, but it still worked; Trish Adkins, who did a little bit of everything for me; Michelle Wolfson, who may well be known henceforth as "Mrs. Green;" and Mat Boyle, who was always there to shoot great photos when I needed him.

And there are my South Jersey Patch local editor colleagues—some of whom are still with Patch, some of whom have moved on—Bryan Littel, who has been my co-worker for nearly 11 years, Rob Scott, Matt Skoufalos, Bill Duhart, Christina Paciolla, Diane Fuhrer, Anthony Bellano, Doug Bergen, and Deena DiBacco.

Of course, I must offer a special "thank you" to South Jersey Patch regional editor Tim Zatzariny Jr., who brought me into the Patch family. Tim and I were once competitors in Cumberland County—he worked at the Daily Journal while I was at The News of Cumberland County.

Last, but certainly not least, a huge "thank you" to South Jersey Patch associate regional editor Lauren Burgoon, who was always there to make life easier on the local editors in our region and, at least with me, to offer solid suggestions on how to handle sticky situations.

While I'd be lying if I said there weren't moments of frustration during my two-plus years as Gloucester Township Patch editor—hey, it's a tough town with plenty of opinionated people—I truly did enjoy my time here. I hope all of you will continue to support and use Patch on a daily basis.

Sean McCullen

If you need to get in touch with someone from Patch, reach out to South Jersey Patch regional editor Tim Zatzariny. His email is tim.zatz@patch.com. His phone number is 609-775-5880. You can also continue to send emails to gloucestertownship@patch.com.