Sun closure: Pinocchio front page a personal high point of enriching and rewarding time at the Sun

When my wife and I decided to stop the touring (and struggling) actor’s life so we could move back to her home country and raise our family, I had never before worked in an office. 

My jobs alongside the theatre had included sales, retail management and a great deal of children’s photography, and the skills I had gained fit the Bermuda Sun role perfectly… still, the free-spirited artist in me balked at the idea of ‘the desk’!

However, my experiences here at the Sun have been enriching creatively, educationally and physically. I’ve honed my photographic abilities; I’ve expanded my skill set to include video production and animation; I’ve been encouraged to pick up a pencil and illustrate articles for the first time in years (I actually wanted to be a comic book artist when I was a child); I have even become one of those ‘gym-at-lunchtime’ office dudes, with a trimmer waist to prove it!

In addition, I’ve been able to creatively tell a story through visuals rather than just slap a photo on it, and my proudest moment came this year with our much-lauded Pinocchio-themed page 1 on February 19.

Tony McWilliam encouraged and allowed me to try new ideas with the visuals in the paper from the very beginning of my tenure, and the skills I have acquired in the process are invaluable. Above all, my first office job placed me with the loveliest group of colleagues I’ll probably ever work with. 

It’s a good gang here at the Sun, with a commitment to honest, fearless journalism enhanced by a healthy, friendly workplace. 

Blessings to you all, Bermuda SunBeams.