Southeast Missourian to celebrate Fred Lynch at retirement reception Friday

For more than 43 years readers of this newspaper have enjoyed the work of photographer Fred Lynch.

There were local high school sports and coverage of the Southeast Missouri State University Indians-turned-Redhawks sports programs. Major events like a blizzard or presidential visit. And countless other scenes that have become part of the first draft of history for Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois.

Chances are that if you've lived in the area for very long, Lynch probably took a photo of you. Maybe you follow his blog "f/8 and Be There" on semissourian.com. And if you missed the TBY profile on him last July, check it out on semissourian.com. It's a fun walk down memory lane.

On Friday, Lynch will leave the Southeast Missourian newsroom and enter a new scene in life -- retirement.

To celebrate his distinguished career and dedication to the craft of storytelling, the Southeast Missourian will hold a retirement reception from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday at the Rust Center for Media located at 325 Broadway. We will have photos on display and a cake reception. At noon there will be brief remarks by Rust Communications co-president Jon K. Rust, editor Bob Miller and, of course, Fred Lynch.

We hope you can join us as we celebrate a remarkable career and a legacy of photos that are sure to find their way into the Southeast Missourian for years to come.

Congratulations, Fred.