John Hetzler, Patch Staff

I am a longtime Michigan resident, sports enthusiast and journalist who is excited to bring you the best from your community through Patch.com.

I grew up in Portsmouth, VA, and I graduated from the University of Virginia in 1995.

I worked as an intern, copy editor and sports designer at The Daily Progress in Charlottesville, VA, from 1994-97.

In 1997, I moved to Grosse Pointe Park. Also in 1997, I began working as a copy editor at The Macomb Daily in Mount Clemens. I moved to the sports department in 1999, and I covered events ranging from the NBA Finals to the Stanley Cup playoffs. Mostly, though, I concentrated on high school sports, being there for the football playoffs and the county swim meet.

<b>My Beliefs</b><br>At Patch, we promise always to report the facts as objectively as possible and otherwise adhere to the principles of good journalism. However, we also acknowledge that true impartiality is impossible because human beings have beliefs. So in the spirit of simple honesty, our policy is to encourage our editors to reveal their beliefs to the extent they feel comfortable. This disclosure is not a license for you to inject your beliefs into stories or to dictate coverage according to them. In fact, the intent is the opposite: we hope that the knowledge that your beliefs are on the record will cause you to be ever mindful to write, report and edit in a fair, balanced way. And if you ever see evidence that we failed in this mission, please let us know.

<strong>Politics</strong>

I am an independent voter who votes for the candidate I think is best.

<strong>Religion</strong>

I attend Christ Church Grosse Pointe.