A couple of weeks ago, I reached my 10-year milestone in journalism. I am truly grateful for the opportunity I’ve had to work here at the Journal-Record for a stint of eight years, followed by another run of two years.
The people in Marion County are one of the best parts about this job. There are so many amazing, gifted, sharing and caring individuals who work here, live here, operate businesses here and are the backbones of the organizations that help support the communities.
The staff I work with are also a very special part of this job. I’ve been blessed with work with great editors, talented writers, awesome ad managers and other support personnel.
Whenever I conduct interviews, I always ask what is the best part of the job, and what is the hardest part.
The best part of this job is helping people share their stories. There are people who have stories to tell and those who want to read entertaining or newsworthy articles. We are the middle men (or women).
We definitely all do our best to put this paper together and make it possible for everyone to get the latest local information, whether that’s about their city council, their high school sports team or events happening around town.
I truly love Marion County and all of the cities which are located in its beautiful boundaries. We have great city officials, exceptional police and fire departments, top hospitals, hardworking county officials, outstanding schools, blessed churches and many, many more things that make this county a sensational place in which to live.
I am thankful to have been able to reside in such a wonderful place for so many years. I’m thankful to everyone in all these communities who helped me do my job of journalism, whether it was helping with a story, a photo or two (or 902 at the last fall fest) or working hard to make sure an event was publicized--you were beneficial to our publication. Newspapers are truly a team effort.
And what’s the hardest part of this job? The deadlines. There has to be a point in time when the paper is published. That time is not chosen by us. It’s chosen by the printers, who have multiple newspapers to print.
It takes a considerable amount of time to put the paper together. There are ads to place, articles to run in certain areas, photos to all be edited and sized, headlines to add, stories to be continued from one page to another, sports items to get in as soon as possible and then every single page has to be reviewed and proofread.
I am appreciative that 99 percent of the people I work back and forth with on stories respect our deadlines. Put us on your to-do list when you’re planning an event. Reach out ahead of time for free publicity in our calendar of events, or for far-reaching advertising with eye-catching designs, or to share photos and information our readers should be aware of.
I am so grateful to have been a part of a decade of stories and more than 500 editions of the Journal-Record. That’s amazing to me when I look back on it. There are at least 500 newspapers I’ve contributed stories to, or taken photographs for. And sometimes there were multiple stories I worked on in a certain issue.
So that means, I’ve probably worked with at least 1,000 people out there in the last 10 years. All of those people have been special to my heart. You know who you are. You made me tear up with your touching story. You made me laugh with your comments. You said you never looked good in photos, but then you let me take 20, and we found a great one.
You talked about your team. You spoke about your organization. You shared an amazing milestone of your own--either business or family or historical. I saw you and your family at a festival; and I took your photo. We worked for hours to make sure your story looked and sounded good.
There was good news to share. There was heartbreaking news to cover. There were outstanding athletes who grew up and had kids who are now outstanding athletes. Kids grow, businesses grow, communities grow. And sometimes we lose those we love along the way, too. There’s probably at least 50 of my 1,000 people who have gone ahead of me to heaven. A few have been best friends.
I’ve also made many friends through this job. I cherish each one of them greatly. I also treasure all the acquaintances I’ve made. Every single person I’ve ever worked with on a story or article is dear to me. I care about this newspaper, I care about everyone who works here, and I care about everyone in the communities we cover.
All in all, it’s been a pleasure to witness so many events, work on so many feature stories and cover so many city council meetings with dedicated officials. I’ve truly done my very best to help make this community newspaper the very best it can be--every day, every week, every year and every single issue.
I couldn’t do this job without the daily support, grace, energy, assistance, blessings and mercy given to me each and every hour by our Good Lord. I’m also so grateful for my family and friends, who have encouraged and sustained me all these years.
I’m very thankful I’ve gotten to know and love so many wonderful people through the pages of this newspaper. God bless you all! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
See complete story in the Journal Record.
Subscribe now!