Goodbye Bluegrass

It seems our house sold sooner than we thought it would, so I'm saying goodbye to Central Kentucky. My wife will be starting a new job at Duke University soon, so we're off to Durham, NC.

The past five years in Kentucky have been personally and professionally rewarding. I had my most surreal professional experience here - coordinating a conference call about a plane crash from the site of a derailed and burning freight train. I also saw my own name in the papers here a lot more than I wanted. However, I also got to see life from a different perspective - slower, more rural, more conservative - and as a result I hope I've learned more about appreciating and respecting other points of view. From my home office in Lexington I helped my company build a social media practice that accounts for seven figures in revenue and assemble a young, talented and dynamic global team. It's a humbling experience, and I'm grateful to Evan Kraus for having confidence in me and tolerance of my wacky ideas.

I can't begin to thank Tom Martin, Chuck Creacy and Chris Eddie at Business Lexington enough for the opportunities to contribute to Business Lexington's success. My sporadic column there gave me the chance to both explore national and global issues while learning more about Kentucky. Tom is a good friend and an accomplished journalist, and I'm looking forward to continuing to collaborate with him on some interesting ideas, albeit from a distance.

There are a couple of local business people I have to specifically mention here. Nancy Victor of All Creatures Inn and Scott Nieves of Beaumont Veterinary Center have consistently gone above and beyond all expectations when it comes to customer service. If dogs are part of your family, and you live in the Lexington area, I'd recommend each of them in a heartbeat.

The transition to Durham will take some time, and things might be a bit spotty here for a few weeks, but I'll try to update as much as I can.