The State's new publisher, a child of the South, is ready to serve Columbia, S.C.

When I was introduced as the new president and publisher of The State and four other McClatchy Co. newspapers in South Carolina and North Carolina, some were wondering, "Who is this guy, and what might we expect?"

At the heart of the answer is this: I'm a child of the South, raised with the values of family, faith and service. I'm a man of the South, who has lived and raised his children in the goodness of this region. And, yes, as an African-American man of the South, I know the darkness that is part of our story.

I'm also an Army brat, who moved every two years until eighth grade, learning new places, new cultures and new countries, making new friends, and seeking to become part of new communities over and over.

Those experiences, this upbringing and its challenges and opportunities have shaped me and inform what you can expect from me as publisher of this esteemed institution. 

Read more from his column in The State