My name is Chris Marquette and I am extremely excited to cover news and sports for the Picayune Item.  About a week and a half ago, I got in my car and started the long journey from Connecticut (where I was working this summer). The trip totaled 19 hours and took me through 11 states. Needless to say, I was very relieved to arrive in Picayune after being cooped up in a car that long.

I was born and raised in Washington, D.C. Sports has always been a huge part of my life—I played basketball and baseball throughout high school. In addition to playing sports, I also love watching them. I’m a huge fan of the Washington Nationals, the Washington Wizards and the Washington Redskins. Go ahead, I’m used to constant jokes about RGIII being a huge bust, Dan Snyder being an impulsive owner and the general circus show that my hometown football team is.

After high school, I went up to New England to study English at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts which is not too far from Boston.  Following graduation, I took a job as a litigation paralegal at a corporate law firm on Wall Street in New York City. After a year there I realized I needed to make my job something that includes sports so I enrolled in the Sports Management Graduate program at Georgetown University.

When my graduate studies came to a close I took a job as a the Athletic Director of a private school in D.C. and also worked as a varsity baseball coach at the local public high school.

This past summer I worked at the New Britain Herald as a summer correspondent where I covered topics from an international taekwondo champion who is hoping to compete in the next Summer Olympics to local baseball games.

Last Friday I went to the Picayune football game against St. Martin. Although the outcome was not what everyone hoped, I was really impressed by how well the community and fan base travels. Also, the atmosphere was electric so I cannot wait to go to another game.

I hope to get to know a lot of the members of this community in the near future.

By Chris Marquette.