I have something I need to tell you this morning. It's incredibly embarrassing, even humiliating for me. But you, the good readers of this newspaper, deserve to know.

A few weeks ago, I joined some friends at a local restaurant for trivia night. It's a weekly event for us. On this night, I think, we even won.

On the way home, I was pulled over by a Hall County sheriff's deputy. I was arrested for driving under the influence. I spent a few hours at the Hall County Jail.

I honestly didn't believe I had too much to drink. I didn't think I was impaired. My group of friends is usually good at spotting someone in the group who shouldn't drive. We have a designated driver when we go somewhere as a group.

On this night, I was wrong. And for that, I am deeply, truly sorry.

I made a number of mistakes that night — and in the days that followed. I never should have gotten behind the wheel after drinking. I'm usually very careful about this, but obviously not careful enough. That's a very valuable lesson, and I promise you I've learned it.

And while my supervisors were told immediately, I didn't tell my staff about it until last week. I should have told them. And we should have reported this news to you in the newspaper.

This newspaper's policy is not to run DUIs unless they involve public figures. My supervisors made the call that I didn't meet that standard. In hindsight, I could have — and I should have — insisted that, as editor of this newspaper, I am a public figure and that we run the story.

I'm ashamed of the arrest. I'm ashamed of how I handled it with my staff and with you.

I'm not offering this as an excuse. More, it's a character flaw. I don't handle adversity as well as I should. When bad things happen, I don't talk about them, even with my closest friends. I internalize my problems. I keep them bottled up inside, as if somehow that's going to help me fix them.

It won't, and I hope that from this adversity, perhaps, I'm going to learn how to be a better person. I hope I'll learn to be more open. Perhaps I'll even learn how to be a better friend to someone who may be facing adversity.

I've let down my family. The hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life is tell my mother about how badly I've screwed up. I'm certain she never believed her oldest child was perfect, but it was painful to admit my imperfection in such a way.

I've let down my staff. I work with an amazing team of talented journalists whom I respect more than any group with whom I've worked. Our newspaper is as good as it is because of them. They maintain a high level of professionalism that I have failed to meet. I should have told my staff sooner, and we should have reported it in the newspaper.

I'm devastated that I've betrayed their trust, and I pray they are willing to give me the opportunity to regain their respect. It's going to take time, but I'm going to work hard at it.

And I've also let down the readers of this newspaper. When I came here nearly five years ago, I promised you in my first column that we would set high standards in our newsroom and that you could trust what we reported.

There has to be trust between the newspaper and its readers. We really have nothing to offer but our integrity. I have fallen well short of that standard, I have tarnished that integrity and for that, I sincerely apologize.

Everyone in life faces adversity. My preacher tells me that it's how a person responds to that adversity that defines him. I've certainly learned a number of lessons from this, not the least of which is not to get behind the wheel when I shouldn't.

I love this newspaper. I love this community. I'm impressed by the compassion of the people here. I hope this community has a little extra compassion to share today.

I have always been a big believer in giving second chances, and I've never needed one more than I need it now. I hope you can find it in your heart to give me one. I'll do everything in my power to never let you down again.

Mitch Clarke is executive editor of The Times. His column appears Sundays. Read previous columns at gainesvilletimes.com/mitch.