From the editor:

Longtime journalist Al Recker has officially retired, after nearly 30 years as a columnist and correspondent with Lehigh Valley Press.

Al has been covering news and features since the first publication of Whitehall-Coplay Press in 1992. He added Northampton Press to his resume upon its first publication in 1998. He has likely had stories and photos published in all eight of our weekly editions during his freelance career.

We at Lehigh Valley Press have long admired his tireless dedication to the community and wish him well in retirement.

Al relayed a message of gratitude through a family member, thanking Whitehall Township and Northampton Borough officials especially for their assistance during his years covering meetings.

“They have all been so good to me, so generous with their time to get the stories right,” he said. “You can only be as good as the people you depend upon, and I have been very fortunate.”

Al said he has enjoyed working with the community residents to capture their stories and photos over the years and wished to “thank them all for letting me help share their stories.”

He also took the time to thank Lehigh Valley Press for allowing him to work on a variety of assignments. But it is we who are thankful - his unwavering commitment to the communities we serve is impressive and admirable.

Fred and Scott Masenheimer, publishers of The Press weekly newspapers, wished to express their appreciation for all Al has done for the Whitehall-Coplay Press and Northampton Press for these many years.

“He was our eyes and ears for what was happening in those communities. As a freelance writer, he willingly gave of his time and journalistic talent to make sure very little news from the communities he covered did not get into print,” Fred Masenheimer said. “We would like to express our thanks to Al for an outstanding career with us and wish him the very best for his retirement.”

Although the first week without having to meet a deadline might seem foreign and even unwelcome to Al, we hope the span is filled with family time. In fact, Al said he looks forward to the company of his grandchildren, Kayden, Sophie and Bella; his dog, Lulu; and his cat, Callie.

He added, though, he still plans to keep tabs on current events in Whitehall, Coplay and Northampton. We’re not surprised at all.

Kelly Lutterschmidt

On behalf of the Lehigh Valley Press staff