In true "inverted pyramid" journalism style, I'll get right to the point: I'm moving on from my role as Self-Storage Talk community manager (and as an editor for Inside Self-Storage) to attend graduate school full-time. I'll be pursuing a master's degree in urban planning and policy, and unfortunately, there just aren't enough hours in the day to stay caught up with my studies and give the required attention to SST and ISS. My last day as community manager will be tomorrow, Aug. 10. (Pausing for a second to reach for a tissue.)

(OK, better.)

It's a hard decision, but the time is now for me to dive into something new. As much I have enjoyed being a part of SST's evolution into the largest online community in the industry, I'm passionate about my new field and eager to get started. The good news is I'm passing the torch to someone whom I'm confident will be a tremendous forum leader: Tony Jones, or TonyISS as he's known on the forum. Tony and I have worked together at VIRGO on and off for the past five years on various products and projects. He's a very experienced and talented communicator who is well-equipped to lead SST forward. If you haven't gotten to know him yet, you will, especially when he starts jawing about college basketball and the Arizona Wildcats.

As for me, when I'm not writing papers or putting together my master's project, I'll maintain a regular, standard-user SST account so I can log in once in a while to check on everyone. That means you still can't get away with hijinks! I will find out!

The forum has been incredible for my professional development, and getting to know people in the self-storage industry has been a pleasure. There are so many hard-working, good, honest folks there are in the business. For those who are active in the forum, the moderators and the regular posters, thank you for all of your wonderful contributions. You've taken ownership of the community, and you're the reason it's blossomed like it has.

If you still haven't joined the ranks of SST, you might as well file in behind TonyISS by getting your account for free at www.selfstoragetalk.com. Click "register." The process takes only a few minutes, and then you can fully participate.

Once again, good luck, and it's not "goodbye." It's "I'll see you later."

Best wishes and many thanks,

John (jcarlisle)