Most people who following Patch.com in Chelmsford know that Krista Perry is leaving her post as editor to follow her passion for hockey and marketing at The Hockey Academy in Hudson, NH.  Today is her last day.

Krista was pretty brave to step into unchartered territory a couple of years ago when she came to Chelmsford with this new idea of a hyper-local online news source.  Armed with her iPhone and a Mac, Krista kept everyone informed about breaking news, local activities, town politics and human interest stories.  She posted videos of herself training as a runner, demonstrating first-hand how to ease aching muscles while sitting in a bathtub filled wth ice. She let us follow her online as she hiked open space trails, and introduced us to lovable dogs and cats who needed a home.  Using technology to her advantage, Krista also scheduled live chats with town officials, and blogged live from Town Meeting and other heated events.  Never a dull moment.

Despite the fact she is a very young woman, Krista immediately displayed a tremendous level of maturity, able to articulate the unique issues in our community and stand shoulder to shoulder with newsmakers.  This is no easy task considering Chelmsford has many active, interested and vocal players and endless tricky nuances.

I love a lot of things about Krista, but mostly her tenacity, her sense of humor, and her appreciation for what was important to those of us who live in Chelmsford.  She always respected our views, conducted thorough reporting, and immersed herself in our events, our polititics, our achievements and our challenges.  Although she had a freelancer or two along the way to help cover the news, it was mostly all Krista Perry.

Thanks, Krista, for telling us the Five Things We Need to Know each day, for keeping us informed of news as it happened, and for caring about Chelmsford more than you're willing to admit :-).  If your experience cracking Patch.com in Chelmsford is any indication, you'll have no trouble succeeding at The Hockey Academy or any place you land in the future.

Joanne Stanway, competing media columnist/second mom/fan