Stick the fork in me, folks . . . I'm done.

After 11 great years working with citizen activists, government officials, journalists and nearly 200 VCOG members, it's time to find a rocking chair.

A special thanks to VCOG directors and financial supporters, Associate Director Megan Rhyne (I could not have done it without her) and super-volunteer Becky Dale (up almost every day at 5 a.m., or before, compiling many of VCOG's daily listserv links).

With a lot of help from countless quarters, including a few enlightened legislators and, more often, the Freedom of Information Advisory Council that we helped launch, I think we've made at least some small difference in the struggle for greater transparency in state and local government.

As everybody knows, it's an unending battle, a marathon and not a sprint, in challenging politicians and bureaucrats (not all of 'em, by any means!) who wrongly err on the side of secrecy.

We'll always need watchdogs, watchdogs will always need our help – and, when there's mistaken barking, they'll need our understanding.

Keeping government accessible and accountable is what it's all about.

From the rocking chair I'll be counting on listserv subscribers, VCOG members and other Virginians to keep up the good fight; this collaborative right-to-know effort will succeed only with everybody's help.

Again, a big thank you for a decade of sunshine, despite some clouds along the way. Effective July 9, please welcome VCOG's new executive director, Jennifer Perkins.

     Frosty Landon

     VCOG executive director, 1996-2007

http://www.opengovva.org/content/category/7/39/172/
http://baconsrebellion.blogspot.com/2007/09/frosty-landon-champion-of-open.html
http://www.wvtf.org/news_and_notes/index.php
http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/wb/xp-131372