Many of you don’t know me yet, so I will take this opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Nichole Buchanan. I am the business development manager for the Americus Times-Recorder. I moved to Americus in October from Bainbridge, Ga., where I worked at The Post Searchlight for five years.
I was very excited to accept this position. Being a “military brat,” the move to a new town was something I was accustomed to and it made the job even more exciting.  I began working in Americus in early July, spending weeknights at The Windsor Hotel and traveling back to Bainbridge on the weekends.
From the moment I first drove into downtown on Lamar Street, I could tell Americus and I were going to get along just fine. My first stop was to check in at the Windsor. I have been blessed with many opportunities to travel to different places in my life and can honestly say, I’ve never felt more welcomed than I did when I rolled my suitcase into the lobby. From the front desk to dinner at Floyd’s, the staff and management all went out of their way to make sure my stay was comfortable and enjoyable. You should all be proud to know these people are such a big part of the first impression many visitors have of Americus.
I am fortunate to work for a newspaper where all the information about a town is right at my fingertips.  Which leads me to my next first impression — Jimmy Whaley. He runs an ad on top of the sports page in your newspaper, so I called him to help me find a home. While I lovingly referred to the Windsor as my “Hometel,” I needed a place to live ASAP! I missed my kids and wanted my own bed and kitchen. Many of you know Jimmy, but if you don’t, I must say that, as first impressions go you couldn’t find a bigger cheerleader for Americus than Jimmy. He was very patient with me while I searched every available house in town with enough bedrooms for my family, which was probably pretty daunting after the fifth or sixth house. He used this time to fill me in on all the wonderful things Americus has to offer. His love of your town is palpable. He even had my teen-aged daughter excited and ready to move. Amazing!
There have been so many other first impressions like First Friday, Downtown Christmas Open House, Sumter on Ice, and many others too numerous to mention, and every one of them confirms what Jimmy told me back in July: “Americus is a great place to live.” I have really enjoyed getting to know this community and am looking forward to many more first impressions.

Nichole Buchanan is business development manager, Americus Times-Recorder. Contact her at 229-924-2751, ext. 1005 or nichole.buchanan@americustimesrecorder.com