To paraphrase one of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, a little change (Jefferson used the word rebellion) now and then is a good thing. And so it is with GatorCountry.com, one of the first websites devoted to the coverage of Florida’s championship athletic program, especially its football and basketball programs.
Over the years, we have shown a willingness to hire young men and women with an occasional wily veteran and then given them all the freedom to develop their talents to bring you the best coverage of Florida athletics anywhere. At the same time, our friends throughout Gator Country have accepted all of them as if they were members of their extended families.
We believe the quality of work we have pioneered and done here over the years speaks for itself, and the reason for that is the quality of the personnel we hire.
Which is why we are very excited to officially announce our new staff today:
Our first addition is someone many of you already know – John Patton, a veteran of more than 10 years covering sports for the Gainesville Sun, including Gators football, basketball and baseball. John covered the Gators when they won national championships in football and basketball, and he will lend his expertise in those areas while also helping us in football and basketball with the many high school contacts he has made over the years. Read John’s personal introduction on our message board and to ask him questions here.
Our second hire is Dugan Arnett, a graduate of the prestigious University of Missouri journalism school as well as a summer fellow at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg. Dugan recently covered University of Kansas football and basketball for the Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World. He was honored by the Associated Press Sports Editors in the breaking news category for newspapers under 40,000 circulation and he won first-place awards from the Florida Society of News Editors for his feature writing on non-traditional sports. Read Dugan’s personal introduction on our message board and to ask him questions here.
Finally, in the famous Gator Country tradition of unusual hires, we feel we’ve uncovered a gem in Derek Tyson, a lifelong Florida Gators fan and a former high school quarterback at Armwood High School and for Northwood University in Michigan. Derek brings to Gator Country a fondness for football and basketball recruiting, an ability to recognize talent and a fondness of communicating and connecting with people. He not only will keep an eye on recruiting for us but also will interact with our members in all of our forums, as well as the rest of the Gator Country team. Read Derek’s personal introduction on our message board and to ask him questions here.
With the earlier addition of former Gator players Reidel Anthony, Scot Brantley, and Rick Burgess, this promises to be an all-star line up of talent on the front lines of Gator Country once again.
Like the Green Bay Packers of the NFL and the MLB teams of Minnesota and Tampa Bay – the so-called small-market professional franchises that have won championships – we intend to do the same with our new lineup.
Always remember, you are always at home in Gator Country.