Thank You Chris Bindel

[Michael Deneen]

I am sorry to hear that Chris Bindel is retiring from the Lakewood Observer City Council beat.
I completely understand his decision.....he has done a lot of hard work and deserves to get his Monday evenings back.
The council beat demands a writer to learn about many different topics, and requires sitting through a lot of meetings.
Mr. Bindel did the job very well for many years.

Thank you Chris for your service to our community!

[mjkuhns]

Hear, hear!

[Peter Grossetti]

Congratulations, Chris ... and thank you! A job very well done!

[Jim O'Bryan]

Many people jump into conversations at LO meetings, or here on the Deck, some even send in an article maybe two. To do what Chris did was monumental. Not just attending endless council meetings, trying to understand the issues, and talk with the players is a arduous ordeal. Winter, summer, spring, fall and again and again. Cranking out 800-1500 words about a meeting, and working to take his comments, his bias out of the reporting. No matter how he felt, his comments did not appear. Talk about a labor of love! Along the way he has done some other amazing things, has a great job wonderful wife and two children, I hope enjoys spending more time with them, he has earned the break.

Chris and I rarely agreed on anything, that is not important here at the Observer. What is important is that he felt comfortable doing what he did for the Observer and for all of us. He earned the latitude to report City Hall as he wanted to. I am not saying he was biased. I mean the way he thought it should be covered. In a way he was proud to sign his name to. And issue after issue, as Chris sent in his reports, we set aside whatever space he needed. Chris earned that from us, and the Observer was happy to respond.

At the Observer, we want our reporters, volunteers and members to feel comfortable not just in their words and thoughts, but in knowing many others might not agree, but together we can help make bad ideas good, good ideas better, singular thoughts change to community thoughts and ideas become reality.

Chris, thank you for everything, you will always have a home at the Observer, space in the paper, and of course here online.

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