Whenever an employee leaves, it’s a bittersweet feeling. Moving onto bigger things hopefully means you’ve done something right as a manager, not wrong.

The latest employee to depart my Web team is Jackie Luper, who starts work today as “Vice President of Interactive” for Bradenton.com. It’s a pretty impressive leap from “Online Producer for Entertainment.” And by no means is it all because of me. Jackie is a strong person, who is going to put up a good fight now that she’s leading a rival Web site. (Bradenton.com competes against HeraldTribune.com in our northern coverage area.)

If I reflect on the list of people who departed for bigger and better things, they’ve left me with a sense of pride. Damon Carroll was a longtime producer here and is now “Managing Producer” for OregonLive.com. Leigh Caldwell was our news producer and is now “Executive Producer” for SNN Channel 6.

I first learned this bittersweet lesson back in college, when making my own transition from writer to editor. It meant no longer seeing my byline and stories in print. Watching the staff writers grow had to become an even greater reward. And it was.

It still is.