The first day of the rest of my life

The title of this column is nothing original. I don't know where it originated but of course every new day is the first day of the rest of our lives. However, the phrase holds special meaning for me today.<br /> <br /> Not only is today the first day of the rest of my life it is the first day of a major new chapter in my life.<br /> <br /> I don't want to bore you with a rehash of what you may have already read or heard because, frankly, I am a bit embarrassed over all the attention focused on me recently and my retirement but I felt I owed those of you who have read this column over the years something of a sign-off.<br /> <br /> I retired yesterday after 40 continuous years at Jacobs Media Corp., all but three or four years of that as news director though I will return in the spring on a part-time basis to help out with special projects and getting ready for the several elections that will be held next year.<br /> <br /> But yesterday, I guess, was the official end of a career that began when I was 16-years-old at WMTM in Moultrie, Georgia. However, the seed for that career was planted much earlier, while I was still a pre-schooler growing up in Tifton, about 30 miles from Moultrie. I truly felt at that time that I would like to work at a radio station and then really was bitten by the bug when, after I did start to school, went on a field trip to WWGS in Tifton.<br /> <br /> I've been very fortunate to have had a career that I have enjoyed. There's a saying that goes something like "if you have a job that you enjoy, it's not a job" and that pretty much sums up how I feel about my "job." Oh, of course, I don't mean I bounded out of bed every one of those workday mornings never once feeling that I really would rather have stayed in bed. Of course I did. That's a natural, regardless.<br /> <br /> Of my tenure at Jacobs Media, I can't thank enough the support of the Jacobs family and the newsroom staff members I left behind yesterday and those who came before them. The part they all played in my success is immeasurable.<br /> <br /> The same is true of course of my family, wife Sandra and daughter Lisa. Both stood by me throughout my career, especially Sandra, who very often, especially in those early days, had to adjust dinner schedules and holidays around my schedule because of the 24/7, 365-day beast that radio work is.<br /> <br /> So, that said, as I approach the end of the first 13 hours in the first full day of the newest chapter in my life, I'll say goodbye for now. But when I do return one of the things I hope to accomplish is more frequent visits with you in this space. We'll see.<br /> <br /> But for now, I'll see you in the spring, after, as a colleague put it recently, "a long winter's nap."<br /> <br /> Happy New Year!<br /> <br /> <I>(Ken Stanford is the retired Newsroom Manager for WDUN AM 550, WDUN-FM 102.9, 1240 ESPN Radio and AccessNorthGa.com.)<I>