In 1982, I dropped a quarter into a USA TODAY newspaper box. I was 12 years old, and the newspaper box was across the street from my elementary school, right in front of a Big Boy restaurant. The box was next to boxes for the Detroit Free Press, Detroit News, and what was then called the Monroe Evening News – back when evening/afternoon newspapers existed. I have had bylines in all four papers and web sites.

I was hooked, and there was no way then to know that 13 years after that initial USA TODAY purchase I would end up working there and spending the next 30 years there. All I ever wanted to do was be a newspaper person, and that was encouraged by parents and step-parents.

I was enamored by the entire world of journalism – especially bylines and datelines. A newspaper sent someone there to write about that. How wonderful. Through this job, I’ve been able to write stories from around the world: From Bad Axe, Michigan to Paris, France. What a treat.

In true USA TODAY fashion, here’s a charticle, a listicle, a by the numbers:

Years at USA TODAY: 30
Years at Gannett: 32
Years collecting a paycheck from Gannett 35.
Number of NBA Finals: 18
Olympics: 8 (four Summer, four Winter)
World Series: 7
Super Bowls: 6
Final Fours: 6
College football national championship games: 2

It was an honor, privilege and joy to work here and with so many wonderful people. I can’t and won’t begin to name them all because I would leave someone out. But my gratitude for this place and the people run, like some of my favorite Western trout rivers, wide and deep.

I got to live out the dream of a lifetime here.

I am fortunate and lucky. I don’t discount luck or fortuitous timing. This sounds Malcolm Gladwell-esque but I’m a believer in the Profound Meaning of Inconsequential Events. In 1988, I walked into a journalism class my freshman year and the person in the row in front of me mentioned the Lansing State Journal needed help in sports department. I often think if I had been a minute earlier or later and sat elsewhere and not heard that, where would I be?

And the reason I had clips to show the sports editor of the Lansing State Journal is that when I was in high school the SE of the local weekly wanted to write a story on our 3-on-3 team that participated in the Gus Macker basketball tournament and at the end of the interview, I asked him if he needed help and he said he needed swimming previews. So I started writing swimming previews.

As some of you know, I’ve had serious health issues the past decade and recently received radiation treatment for a cancerous spot in my abdomen in addition to the regular infusion I have received every three weeks for the past two years to keep metastatic stomach cancer in check.

I’ve said this about a variety of things but this job and colleagues have helped me through dark days and made it possible for me to get from there to here. The support and kindness have been overwhelming and have enriched my life. I don’t do this alone.

The timing of this buyout works, giving me a chance to pursue a couple of projects. I don’t have anything lined up, except for a few freelance gigs. I plan to decompress for a bit – I’m headed to Montana next week to fly-fish and will take a beach vacation later in September and I’ll go to some concerts. I still have stories to tell.

I’m around – I have a roster of coffee houses in Northern Virginia that I like to visit; if you want to talk journalism, USA TODAY, sports, anything at all, reach out.

I said I wouldn’t mention anyone by name but Alison, I love you – getting to this point is not possible without you.

To everyone here and bunch of people who are not, past and present, from USA TODAY – thank you, a million times over. I am rooting for you and the success of USA TODAY.

Jeff Zillgitt

After 30 years at USA TODAY, it's -30- for me