Once again, we have a personal moment here. My sports editor for my part-time job at the Kokomo Tribune, Dave Kitchell, is retiring January 13th after 40 years on the job. It is safe to say that without him, there would be no Hammer & Rails. In May of 1999 he brought me on as a part-time writer. I was 19, I had just finished my freshman year at Purdue, and I had no idea what I was doing. As an example: the first football game I covered for him I had no idea I needed to provide stats. For some reason he stuck with me and helped me grow more than I thought possible as a writer. It has been an honor to write for him on the side for the last decade.