People come and go in the work force all the time.

Someone deciding to change jobs isn’t exactly a rarity in this day and age.

While that statement holds true in the newspaper business, it still feels a little different here. When you’ve worked with a guy for 23-plus years, it feels a lot different.

Butler Eagle sports writer Mike Kilroy worked his final day at this newspaper Friday, ending a 21-year run here as part of our sports staff. I had the good fortune of being here for Mike’s entire tenure with us.

I was also the sports editor in Steubenville, Ohio, years ago when we hired Mike as a fulltime sports reporter there. That was his first fulltime job in this business.

Referring to Mike as a sports reporter now simply doesn’t do his career justice.

I’ve had the pleasure of watching him expand and improve his talents as the years have gone by.

He excels in page design. He’s become an accomplished novelist, penning a number of science fiction books.

During the pandemic which shortened the staff size in our newsroom, Mike was called upon to help out this paper in areas beyond sports.

He wrote front-page stories. He designed news pages. He even ran out to cover a fire one night.

His versatile abilities proved beneficial to the entire newsroom on numerous occasions over the past couple of years.

All the while, Mike remained loyal to our sports department, annually designing the preseason football edition, coming up with plenty of local features and providing game coverage of sporting events around the calendar.

Sitting in my chair in the corner of the office every day, I’ve been able to watch him blossom into a true journalist wearing a lot of hats.

Mike Kilroy has been a right-hand man for me for a very long time.

More importantly, he’s been an effective, productive member of the Butler Eagle news team.

I worked in this business for a number of years before meeting up with Mike.

I hope to work for a while longer in this business after saying goodbye to him.

Mike met his wife, Dahn, at the Eagle. They went through a long process to adopt their daughter, Emma. Mike proudly displays and shows off pictures of his beautiful little girl whenever he can.

And well he should.

I have no doubt Mike will continue to shine as his career shifts elsewhere.

I know the Butler Eagle — and definitely myself — have reaped the benefits of the years he spent with us.

Thank you, Mike.

You know you have a supporter here whenever you need one.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle