From the Editor's Desk
My story
By Chad Wilson

My venture into the newspaper business was purely by accident, well at least on my part.

During my senior year of high school I was one of the first students to take Desktop Publishing. I enjoyed the class a great deal, but had no idea how to expand on that for my future career.

Once out of high school I took basics at TVCC before moving on to Kilgore College to study Advertising and Design (A/D). A/D was the closest thing I could find to the desktop publishing class I took in high school.

I enjoyed my year at Kilgore a great deal and signed up for 18 hours of classes for the fall semester. God however had a different idea for me. Within days after completing my schedule for the fall of 2002 God began to tap on my heart about dedicating a year of my life to Him in Master's Commission.

At first it was a very, very hard decision. Once God started opening doors and clearly showing me His path, that decision became easier.

Master's was great! I grew (spiritually and maturity) more in that one year than I would have ever imagined. I believe that year prepared me for what God had in store for my future, something I had no clue about.

Once I returned to East Texas I worked for Love and Learn Daycare in Chandler before working in an office position for Joey Ridgle Septic Service, Inc.

I was with JRSS for about a year when I was alerted to a job opening here at The Statesman. It was a part-time position with a focus on laying out the paper and designing ads.

At first I was skeptical about the position but after meeting with Roger Perry with a resume and photos in hand my future began to open up.

Mr. Perry hired me part-time in April 2004 and by August 2004 I earned myself a full-time position by adding in sports coverage.

While growing up I had always collected the sports pages from the Dallas Morning News and other daily papers when a major sports event occurred. So I guess in a way the newspaper business was something I was always fond of.

With my personal desire for sports and my knowledge of the games and how to capture the action, the sports coverage here at The Statesman began to take off. Since I have always collected newspapers it has given me an advantage when it comes to the cosmetic side (design) of the business.

I had no idea I would ever be the editor of a newspaper, but I believe without a doubt that God did. He has directed my footsteps this far and I am excited about what He is going to do in the future.