I write to sing the praises of Rich Garella as an excellent copy editor. Rich and I worked together assembling the nightly nuts and bolts of The Cambodia Daily in 1995-96. We laid out pages, edited wire service and staff-generated stories, wrote headlines, then proofed one another's pages (amid power outages, assorted coup attempts and other challenges, I might add).

Right from the start, Rich impressed me as a fast learner. With little experience on a daily paper at that time, he stepped up and performed at a level exceeding most of my colleagues at the North Carolina newspaper from which I was taking a year's leave. He edits cleanly and is quick to spot holes in stories. He also is well-read and knowledgeable on a wide variety of topics, informed and interested about world events, and has a wonderful sense of humor that infuses his work.

After my departure, Rich went on to become a top editor at the Daily and received high marks.

Last but not least, he is a whiz at computers, the Internet, and the workings of the World Wide Web.

In short, I believe any organization could use someone as versatile as Rich. Please let me know if I can provide any more information about him.

Sincerely,

Roy Greene
Assistant Metro Editor
The Boston Globe
Tel: 617-929-3095