Look at the masthead below. We’re back at full staff.

It’s been a challenging few weeks at the Business Record. Mike Lovell left as managing editor last month and the new editor, Jim Pollock, didn’t come on board until Thursday. We promoted Michael Swanger to managing editor of our magazines and made him Cityview’s music critic, which created an opening for a Business Record staff writer. Sharon Baltes starts in that position Tuesday.

Jim brings ambitious goals to the Business Record. He’s one of the best reporters and writers around. I’ve been a fan of his writing for years and recall more than one occasion when I finished one of his richly detailed feature stories and said to myself, “Wish I’d written that.” I predict that in the weeks to come, readers will be saying the same thing.

With Jim and Sharon joining Joe Gardyasz and Erin Kiley, I’m confident the Business Record will move to the next level of excellence. Joe Gardyasz is a seasoned reporter who came to Iowa via North Dakota and Wyoming, where he gained a wealth of business-reporting skills. He’s a low-maintenance kind of guy who works solidly every day until the job is done. The Business Record and Iowa are lucky to have him. On the masthead this week, you’ll see Joe has been promoted to senior reporter.

One of the best parts of this job involves working with young reporters and watching them grow. Erin Kiley’s one of those people. As the person primarily responible for the production of the Business Daily each weekday, she juggles several tasks. A naturally talented and lively writer, she has grown personally and professionally since joining us in September 2002. She’ll be sharing some of the more routine tasks associated with the job with Sharon and readers will see more of her bylines.

Everyone at BPC pitched in marvelously in big and small ways during the transition between employees, which occurred at one of our busiest times. It’s great when colleagues are friends who can be counted on when the circumstance require extra effort.

Sources also have been unbelievably understanding. I can’t count the number of phone calls that began, “I know you’re probably snowed under …” An intimate connection with readers was one of the things I worried I’d miss when I left community journalism to join the Business Record almost three years ago. The past few weeks reminded me again those fears were without merit.

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Despite the excitement surrounding our new employees, last week was bittersweet. We said a reluctant goodbye to Deb Dessert, our chief financial officer, who’s starting her own consulting business. A consummate professional, she has keen analytical and strategic thinking skills. We’ll miss her, but are excited for her as she starts her new business.

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Finally we want to hear from readers about a switch we’re considering regarding our sales column. This week, we replaced Jeffrey Gitomer’s column with one written by Susan Cascade, a business consultant whose columns currently appear in The Central Penn Business Journal and the Michigan Web Journal.

Give it a read this week and next and let us know what you think. To register a preference for Gitomer or Cascade, e-mail me at bethdalbey@bpcdm.com.