After years of reporting on the highs and lows of Sooke, community news reporter Rick Stiebel has announced he will be starting the new year in a new role: retiree.
Across his time with Black Press Media, Stiebel has worked in a number of roles since 2001, including reporter for the B次元官网网址 more recently, the Sooke B次元官网网址 Mirror.
Some readers may also remember his witty and sometimes controversial column, the Rickter Scale.
Tenacious, professional and witty are just some of the words used by his colleagues to describe the departing reporter.
But it's his sheer dedication to the craft and his community which is admired most.
Kate Engqvist, managing editor for the Greater Victoria B次元官网网址 hub, recalls Stiebel pouring over lines of copy, meticulously picking each and every word, and reworking story ledes even after leaving the office.
B次元官网网址淵ou will not find a reporter that cares more than he does," she says.
B次元官网网址淲hether it's a local business owner struggling to survive, kids raising awareness for a rare disorder, or a community member trying to help others, Rick takes every story to heart and treats it like it's the scoop of the century."
And Kevin Laird, long-time Sooke B次元官网网址 Mirror editor, who has worked with Stiebel on and off since 2008, agrees.
While Stiebel arrived late to the field B次元官网网址� studying journalism in his early 40s B次元官网网址� Laird holds him in high regard.
B次元官网网址淗eB次元官网网址檚 one of the best community reporters I've come across,B次元官网网址� said Laird. B次元官网网址淚n terms of getting into the community and figuring out what it's all about, he is the best."
Wife Joan Stiebel, who works as an advertising consultant for Goldstream B次元官网网址 Gazette, says one of her proudest moments from her husbandB次元官网网址檚 career is a story from 2020, when he interviewed the Townsin family.
After Lexi Townsin died at the age of six in 2019, after battling Blau Syndrome, her brother Felix and parents Troy and Cheryl-Lynn embarked on a mission to raise awareness of the rare genetic disorder, a campaign that continues to this day.
Stiebel met the family almost a year after her death.
B次元官网网址淗e had the family in the office and they were all laughing it up,B次元官网网址� remembers Joan. B次元官网网址淗e really has a way of connecting with people. I've never been so proud of him.
B次元官网网址淗e can write tough stories B次元官网网址� funny stories, he loves writing and he loves people and getting to know what they're all about.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淗e's always really good at getting both sides of the story,B次元官网网址� said Laird, who remembers the time and effort Stiebel gave to a story about residents' concerns over environmental damage to Ella Stream in Sooke.
B次元官网网址淚t was pretty a complex story, but he was able to get both sides," he adds.
Engqvist remembers the morning West Shore RCMP Const. Sarah Beckett was killed.
Stiebel wrote the editorial for the edition going to press that day. It was a poignant moment for the reporter as he had personally known and worked with Beckett during a brief break from the Gazette.
B次元官网网址淚 saw him agonize over every single word, trying to encapsulate what a beautiful person she was and how much her loss would be felt,B次元官网网址� said Engqvist. B次元官网网址淚 think it's the only time I've seen him close to tears in a job that can be brutal on a good day.
B次元官网网址淭he care he took B次元官网网址� and continued to take every day after makes me strive to be a better journalist.B次元官网网址�
About the legacy he leaves behind, Laird predicts Stiebel's shoes will be hard to fill, having earned himself a place in the hearts of all his readers.
B次元官网网址淔or Sooke it's going feel like they've lost a friend," he says. "Because he got lots of praise for the stories he did B次元官网网址� he served his community well.
"And he's hard not to like. Sometimes he comes off grumbly and old-mannish, but for the most part, people end up loving him."