The last few weeks have been exciting for me. From getting married the last day of February to covering many wonderful events in Selma since then, I have been extremely busy and very blessed.

Of course getting married was wonderful, and I could not be happier with finally being able to call Blake my husband. But shortly after our wedding, it was back to work, and we had to hit the ground running.

I’ve had the opportunity to be within inches of the President of the United States and the First Family — talk about an awesome experience.

Former President George W. Bush even wrote me a personalized letter in response to a letter I left for him concerning my uncle Randy Royer.

Only one week ago Randy was awarded the Purple Heart. It was an honor well-deserved, and our family is so proud of him and his courage in the face of a horrible tragedy — the Ft. Hood shooting in 2009.

I’ve been able to work with Congresswoman Terri Sewell on multiple occasions for stories, and I have really come to admire and respect such a wonderful woman and leader for our community.

I had the opportunity to cover assignments like the annual Pilgrimage, where I was able to tour a couple of homes and learn even more about the truly remarkable history the Queen City has to offer.

As we worked on our annual Horizon edition, I had the opportunity to meet some wonderful people in the community that really have a heart of gold. Although many of them will leave an impression on me, I think the hour that I spent with the Garner family will stay with me for many years to come. They are outstanding people and fantastic role models.

I covered the Special Olympics held at Memorial Stadium a couple of weeks ago and it really gave me chills — even in the extreme heat — to see such talented and wonderful people have so much fun competing and being rewarded for their hard work. It was truly inspiring to watch as these athletes gave it their all, and humbling to see the amount of volunteers that worked tirelessly to make sure everything went as smooth as possible.

I also had my fair share of chili at the Alabama River Chili Cookoff. Blake and I still talk about how much fun we had at the cookoff and how great of an event it was for Selma. So many people from all different walks of life made their way out to Water Avenue to have some fun, fill their gut and support SABRA Sanctuary. It was amazing to see all of the people come together and eventually raise more than $12k for SABRA.

I say this all to point out that Selma has it’s flaws, but look around and see the potential that Selma has and how truly wonderful this city is when the community steps up and works together for a common cause.