June 30th, 2016

“I have a high school journalism teacher to thank for my career–he saw a spark of writing talent in me and encouraged me to pursue it (thank goodness, because I was a high school junior at the time and didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do with my life!).
“I’ve always been an introvert of sorts, and being a journalist–approaching people for interviews–still takes me out of my comfort zone, even after 30 years in the business. But I love talking to people and searching for the right words and photos to tell their stories. Sometimes those stories are heartbreaking; interviewing a mother who is about to lose a child to cancer, or the family of someone killed in a traffic crash or house fire, for example. Other times you get the opportunity to meet someone who is wrapping up a lengthy and satisfying career, or a local resident who has beaten the odds in a life or death battle.
“In the end, journalism has been a really rewarding career for me, especially in a small community where local newspaper has a proud tradition of focusing on the people whose contributions–and stories–make the community what it has been, what it is and what it will be well into the future.”