Gratitude

Over the weekend Clayton gifted me Peach Pundit.

Just up and gave me the domain, the content, the copyrights, the IP and all of the accounts…everything.

I panicked a little about the possible tax implications… was this going to impact my personal net worth? Nope. Peach Pundit has never made any money, so it is hard to put a dollar figure value on it but suffice it to say that it is worth, in terms of dollars, a lot less than the number the Internal Revenue Service would care about.

But you cannot measure the real worth of Peach Pundit in dollars. It’s real value is more subjective; influence. While Peach Pundit does not have the largest audience these days, it certainly has the right audience. As I walk the halls of the Gold Dome, people stop me to mention an article or express appreciation for me trying to put Pye in his place during a podcast (I’m joking, Jason, chill bro). Lobbyists, legislators, and maybe more than one or two members of the executive branch have reached out to express thoughts about something posted here.

We play inside baseball here. Our bloggers have behind the curtain access and relationships built on years of being genuine political insiders. And they are talented writers too, able to take complex issues and explain them clearly so that people who are not on the inside can catch a glimpse of what it looks like backstage.

Over the years, what Erick and Clayton built was a powerful brand in Georgia Politics. And they entrusted it to several others along the way whose work we must recognize and without which we wouldn’t be here here right now. Charlie Harper, or Icarus Pundit, made Peach Pundit more than a blog, he built a community. I am not Charlie. He has gifts I admire but do not possess. I am grateful for Charlie’s contribution here.

And we have to devote a great deal of our gratitude to Jon Richards. Jon was an affable fellow who became a fixture at the Capitol during legislative sessions while I served. He was one of the most trusted members of the media because you always knew that even if he didn’t agree with you he was going to represent your point of view fairly. Jon passed away too young and I have missed him often.

For reasons I do not fully understand there was a fissure between the crew and the founders and the former left to go start their own thing. And honestly, I don’t think I want to know all of the details of that story. As the current owner of Peach Pundit, I can tell you that I continue to read their stuff and enjoy their work and because I want you to be informed would encourage you to do so as well.

This blog then sat for a while before Pye decided to get it going again and I eagerly jumped at the chance to write for this historic brand. Together with Buzz, the three of us started the Peach Pundit Podcast, which has been a fun way for us to maintain regular content updates.

Where will we go from here? I have a few ideas. Yours are welcome too The podcast is certainly going to continue and keeps growing in listenership. We will look to add more voices and add bloggers to our roster. And a new layout is coming that promises to be more visually appealing than what we are using currently.

Your support for this site, through readership, or through Patreon is going to be a big part of how we are able to deliver content that is useful and or entertaining. You can help us right now by finding our podcast at Apple Podcasts, Audible, Spotify, Amazon, or wherever you get your podcasts, and then clicking the follow/subscribe button and leaving us a five star review. Well, if we have earned it anyway. But you can help most by becoming a Patreon subscriber.

So today, we are spending a lot of thought on the concept of simply being grateful. Clearly thankful to Clayton for this generous gift, but also to everyone who has contributed their own flavor to Peach Pundit over the years. I am thankful to our current contributors and most of all to you for continuing to spend some time here.

Looking forward to taking this journey along side you.

In Gratitude,

Scot