As a loyal Salisbury Post subscriber for all the 16 years my family and I have lived here, I’d like to express my heartfelt gratitude to several former Post employees for their extraordinary contributions over these years and longer.

I recognize the financial dilemma print journalism faces as more people get their news online, compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic eroding advertising revenue. I recognize that tough decisions have had to be made and one of them has been to cut expenses by reducing staff. That said, I’m disappointed the Post has chosen to provide no public recognition of these folks’ achievements as they were quietly shown the door. So I will do it.

Jon Lakey is one of the most talented photographers any publication anywhere would be lucky to have. His pictures have graced the pages of both the Salisbury Post and Salisbury the Magazine.

Deirdre Parker Smith has offered us a regular diet of entertainment reviews, recipes and magazine articles.

Time Out was Cindy Hesprich’s “baby” and she worked tirelessly to give every event its due attention.

Joel Honeycutt helped run the printing presses and chased after an ever shrinking pot of advertising dollars.

As a one-man technology department, Chris Crowell managed the website and was the perennial “go-to” guy for anyone’s computer problems.

Business Manager Brian Tant oversaw financial matters. Together, these employees devoted almost a 150 years to the Salisbury Post — think of that! They were treasures in our community and will be sorely missed.

So hats off to all of you, thank you for dedicating so much of your lives to enriching ours and may you find ways to continue utilizing talents too special to waste.

— Mary James

Salisbury