You hold in your hands the culmination of many hours worth of work. The previous sentence is usually the way I start all of these &#8220Progress” columns, because if there is one time in the year that we really try and &#8220self-promote” this newspaper it is with our annual Progress edition.

Today's publication, though, is bittersweet.

The death of Dr. Mike Daniel, LBWCC-Greenville's longtime administrator and instructor, is a hard hit to take.

The loss of Daniel, just 52 when he died on Monday afternoon, left me thunderstruck. He was poised to take over for Dr. Jean Thompson when she retired later this year. The Advocate even featured this future transition in the enclosed Progress edition (see Our Education). Regrettably, the section with the story on Dr. Daniel and Dr. Thompson was printed three weeks ago.

Due to the exhaustive amount of work that has to go into Progress each year these sections must be prepared well in advance of actual publication. We hope you will see the story, instead, as our tribute to Dr. Daniel and to the college and colleagues that loved him.

Indeed, you'll find Dr. Daniel's imprint across this Progress edition. Daniel was an active member of the Butler County Historical Society and included in the Our History section are photographs from his private collection of Civil War veterans. He was also a student of Mrs. &#8220Bobbie” Gamble and comments on her influence in his life in the Our People section.

Like many who have passed through the Greenville campus, I was a student of Dr. Daniel's. As testament to his popularity, his Western Civilization classes quickly filled up. He was the &#8220costumed instructor,” because of his penchant for dressing up in elaborate costumes denoting whichever era of history was on tap for discussion that day. He was a Trojan warrior. He was a Shakespearean poet. Before the days of the &#8220History Channel”, there was Dr. Daniel's classroom. He was the one who made past come alive.

Goodbye, Mike. May you rest in peace and be remembered.

Kevin Pearcey is Group Managing Editor of Greenville Newspapers, LLC. He can be reached by phone at 383-9302, ext. 136 or by email at: editor@greenville.advocate.com.