Humbled beyond belief; blessed to be surrounded by support
Surprises really aren’t my thing. It’s hard to pull one over on me, and I’m not sure I really like them. But when the tears stopped flowing Saturday night at the Colorado Press Association annual convention, I have to admit that the surprise recognition as Newspaper Person of the Year humbled me beyond belief and gave a huge rubber stamp to the support system I’m surrounded by.
Family, staff, community, colleagues, mentors and role models have been my partners in a vocation that is more a lifestyle than a job. I’ve learned so much from all and continue to count my blessings for their influence.
At the time, I’m sure I didn’t fully appreciate the work ethic I learned in growing up in a newspaper family in Imperial, Nebraska. It was fun to have a role in updating subscription plates weekly, collating the annual fairbook, handling a take-apart or stuffing inserts.
Then I learned to type, and the fun expanded! I produced copy on the brand-new Compugraphic and 7200 headliner in the dinosaur days before desktop computers. I became a proofreader of every sign I saw because of the significance of proofreading in the newspaper world.
It was still fun as more tasks were shifted my way when I took sole responsibility for the fairbook publication, from ad sales and design to typesetting, layout, collating and delivery. I had lots of helpers, especially with the printing end, enhancing my awareness that any task takes multiple buy-in.
A recent conversation with Wanda (Starbuck) Janik found us reminiscing about our high school task of developing film in our home-based darkrooms for our respective family newspapers (she at The Holyoke Enterprise and I at The Imperial Republican).
I learned much from my Aurora (Nebraska) High School students when I taught journalism and geometry classes there for two years. Holyoke has provided my largest knowledge base for almost four decades, and the insight from the Colorado Press Association, National Newspaper Association and fellow newspaper colleagues continues to add to my role model and mentor list of heroes.
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