Greetings From Your New Hermosa Patch Editor

Good morning, Hermosa Beach Patch readers! Today, I officially start my position as the associate editor of Hermosa Beach Patch, and I could not be more excited to be part of this great community.

For the past month, I have been a "guest editor" for the site, and I am amazed at how much is happening in a one-and-a-half square-mile city. I have already enjoyed meeting many of you, and I look forward to meeting those I haven't.

This job is not possible without your support. My job is to tell stories important to the community, and I am always looking for your input and suggestions.  

No, really—tell me what you want to hear about!  In fact, send me an email right now and let me know about a community member doing something amazing, a humble neighbor with a cool hobby, or a big issue in your neighborhood. Sometimes what you may consider a small story actually turns out to be the best one to tell.

My email is John.Schreiber@patch.com, and my phone number is 310-363-5870. Email or call me anytime—really.

As for my background, I was born and raised in St. Louis, Mo., where the current temperature is pushing 102 degrees and the humidity isn't far behind. While I do miss the Midwest and my beloved St. Louis Cardinals, the constant 72-degree and sunny weather, ocean breeze and outdoor lifestyle in Hermosa quickly remind me why I love living here.

Before coming to Hermosa, I attended Southern Methodist University for college where I got a BA in marketing but also spent all four years working as a journalist at my student newspaper. Journalism had me hooked.

Immediately after college, I returned to Missouri where I got my master's degree in photojournalism from the University of Missouri.

For my master's thesis, I spent a year in Western Australia, where I worked on a documentary photo project on Aboriginal diabetes in a remote outback town called Laverton. Stories from that experience are plentiful, but I definitely became a better journalist because of my experiences there. 

In my free time, I love being outdoors and am always trying to find a new place to hike or camp in California (which is actually pretty easy). Although I hail from the hometown of Budweiser, I am a very big craft beer nerd (look for a new South Bay beer blog soon) and you can usually find me where good beer is served.

I will certainly have a busy first week here in Hermosa as the Fourth of July festivites get underway. Make sure to say hi if you see me on the street or Strand this week. 

I am looking forward to the stories ahead, and I hope you will enjoy reading them.