What can one say when a legend tells you he's ready to live a life free of deadlines and the AP Style Manual? If anyone has earned the right to retire, it's Tom Southard, the spirit of Kimball-Banner County sports since way back in 1964.

Sports writing requires more than merely a love of athletics--much more, in fact. I haven't worked with Tom for long, but what I learned about him in one short month is telling of the man. His stories arrive on time and with great accuracy, marking him as a consummate professional. More importantly, his passion for the teams representing Kimball, Potter-Dix and Banner County, as well as for local amateurs on the golf course, is genuine.

He recently ended a Jock Talk column with "I love to report on our standout athletes and, in my book, everyone who participates at any level is a standout."

From anyone else, that may sound like hyperbole. From Tom Southard, the sentence is a reflection of his true heart and soul. You have to love a guy like that.

But, as I said, my month in Kimball hardly qualifies me to pay tribute to Tom and his spectacular writing career. So we as a staff plan to publish a four page special in our September 1 issue, the Fall Sports edition.

Though we know he'd rather not detract from high school athletics, we decided his tribute belonged right there, next to the kids.

The section will allow those who worked with Tom over the years and those whose exploits he covered, to tell his story. For me, I'd just say that the Western Nebraska Observer, Kimball and the entire region was fortunate he dedicated himself to sports for so long.

We will miss his words. Luckily, we will probably still catch him on the golf course or in the stands every weekend.