Education reporting has always been one of my passions, and what better place to hone that craft than in Valley Stream, with four school districts and 16 public and private schools. I have always enjoyed my visits to the schools and the opportunity to share with you the work that students and teachers have been doing.

I have had the pleasure of getting to know so many people from the many facets of Valley Stream — schools, government, scouts, community and civic groups, businesses and ordinary citizens. I wish I could say goodbye to everyone personally.

I will miss the events that I attended year after year, including the Memorial Day parade, pumpkin painting contest, Mayor for a Day, Lights on for Education, the Chamber of Commerce gala, the scout Camporee and Central’s football game against my alma mater (don’t worry, I rooted for Valley Stream). The Valley Stream Community Fest has been a wonderful event, with thousands of people coming out to the six-block street fair. Even though I will have moved on by then, I hope to attend this year’s event on Sept. 27.

There have been some sad moments, too. Writing about the death of beloved members of the community is one of the hardest parts of my job. I’ve seen several notable residents pass including Mayor Edward Cahill, Deputy Mayor Guido Cirenza, former Mayor Dominick Minerva, Historical Society Vice President Gabe Parrish and, most recently, Sanitation Supervisor Wayne Mastrangelo. The deaths of 12-year-old Nicholas Lakharam and 18-year-old Chris Schroeder, each from leukemia, were sad and tragic. But the way the community came together to honor each of those young men was inspiring.

I had the privilege of selecting several great residents as the Herald’s Person of the Year each December. Beginning with John Faust and Chris Viggiano in 2007, followed by Jim Buckley, Salvatore Spinicchia, Carol Crupi, Ida D’Angelo, Richard Vela and Dorothy Walz, it gave me great pleasure to recognize people who have really made a difference in Valley Stream through volunteer work, activism or a combination of the two.