Tonight was my final East Texas News at Six broadcast on KTRE. Starting next week, I’ll be embarking on a new adventure, anchoring the Emmy Award-winning Good Morning East Texas on KLTV and KTRE.

This is an opportunity I’m excited about and I hope you will be too! Moving to Tyler is bittersweet, especially with all the friendships and connections I’ve made in Deep East Texas over the last four-and-a-half years, but this is a tremendous chance to grow professionally and personally.

I sincerely appreciate each of you welcoming us into your homes each night for that standing appointment to have a conversation about what’s happening in our community.

We take that responsibility very seriously, knowing you have many choices in local news. That’s what KTRE strives to produce every story, every newscast with you in mind. That commitment won’t change, especially with my friend and colleague Christel Phillips taking the helm.

Since my arrival in 2008, I’ve been proud to take up the mantle of leading a news team with a proud tradition of excellence. As a tribute to KTRE’s first anchorman, Murphy Martin, I’ve used a variation of his signature sign-off as the face of ABC News: “That’s our time, thanks for yours.”

It’s a small reminder that this is your time, your hometown TV station. From coverage of hurricanes, tornadoes, winter storms, wildfires, stories that have commanded national attention, and others that highlight the beauty of the human spirit -– we touch the soul and impact lives every day.

Change doesn’t come without uncertainty, but this promotion will be an important step in my career. I look forward to getting you out the door each day, knowing a little more about your world. Our regional broadcast on KLTV and KTRE will mean we’ll get to continue our daily conversation on-air and on social media — just at a different time.

I hope to see you weekdays, starting at 4:30 a.m.!

The views expressed in this blog do not necessarily reflect the views of KLTV-TV or Raycom Media. They are solely the opinion of the author. All content © Copyright 2012 Lane Luckie