The number one rule in column writing is never to write about yourself. The theory is that people don’t care about how much weight you’ve lost since Thanksgiving, or how many ailments you have had since last week.

Since not many of you know me, though, I am going to break that rule just once — maybe twice — and tell you a little bit about me.

I was born in Muncie, Ind. I lived there until we moved to a little town in Tennessee called Sweetwater.

I was entering the fourth grade, and the only thing I knew about Sweetwater was that it was the “Home of the Lost Sea.” For those who haven’t heard about or visited the Lost Sea, it is recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records as the “World’s Largest Underground Lake.”

Other than the lake, Sweetwater wasn’t known for anything except high school football and basketball.

I never played football because my mother claimed I was too small. She was right. However, I did play basketball, and did well considering my height.

After high school, I followed the footsteps of my uncle and entered the United States Air Force.

I completed basic training and my police technical training school at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Texas. I stayed in San Antonio until someone decided to send me to the remote state of North Dakota.

After serving my time in the Air Force, I entered the Army National Guard and returned to Sweetwater, where my unit was stationed. I then landed an advertising sales position at The Monroe County Advocate & Democrat, the local three-times-a-week newspaper. Not long after learning the benefits and features of the newspaper, I became the advertising manager and ran the small department.

While working at the newspaper, being part of the Guard unit, I finally convinced Melanie to marry me. She’ll tell you that it took a lot of work on my part — but it paid off. We wed while in Tennessee and had our first child together in 1999.

Melanie has stayed at home with the children for most of our marriage and plans to do so with our third child.

Six months pregnant, we decided to look for another opportunity and found one in Selma, Ala., at the Times-Journal. I took the job there as advertising manager and moved my family south in January 2002.

After a year-and-a-half, I became publisher of the newspaper, and we were there until last week, when I accepted the position of publisher here at the News-Herald.

Now, my family has grown to include my wife, Melanie, my oldest son, Chanceton Drew, 7, my youngest son, Landon Crew, 4, and our soon-to-be-baby girl.

Outside of work and my family, I don’t have much time for hobbies, but I do run almost every day. I finished my first marathon in Birmingham, Ala., in February and am gearing up for the Virginia Beach Marathon in March.

I also attempt to play golf from time to time and have picked up tennis lately. I won’t say that I play tennis.

I volley the ball back and forth for short periods of time and can get my first serve in 10 percent of the time.

That’s basically me in a nutshell. I encourage you to give me a call with questions, complaints and suggestions for making your newspaper better.

E-mail me at jesse.lindsey@suffolknewsherald.com or call me at 934-9611.

My door is always open. Please stop by and say hello.