Thank You Olivia

Today is a sad day for me, as it is the last day at the Charlotte Observer for Olivia Fortson, who has been their society editor for the last 24 years. Olivia first hired me fifteen years ago to take photos for her Scene & Heard section. My first event for her was photographing then-tween pop star Aaron Carter at a Walmart appearance. Needless to say, events and gala in Charlotte have come a long way since then. 

Over the past fifteen years, Olivia and I became great friends, and we both worked hard to cover the bright lights of Charlotte’s comings and goings. Many of you first met me at those events. While I hope to continue to take photos for the Observer, I honestly do not know what the future is for me, or Scene & Heard. Change is constant, and change has arrived. The laughs come hard in Auld Lang Syne. Whatever comes from this, it will be different without Olivia, whose elegant work has guided the paper’s  attempts to canvas the town, and brush the backdrop. All we can do is go forward. Columnated ruins domino.  

I dedicate this song today to Olivia, her 24 years with the Observer, and her future. And perhaps mine, as well. I heard this song on the radio last week, while on my way to a photo shoot, and I thought, “That says it all.” Surf's Up, aboard the tidal wave. Thank you Olivia for my being my editor and friend for the last fifteen years, and for all of the photos. It was a wonderful thing, like a children’s song. 

See travels to all of you, and see you on the road.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ2OKoLpNBM