Two years and still going strong

Summer is upon us. Everywhere you look signs of life are returning to our community. The birds are chirping, flowers are blooming, green grass has replaced the brown dead grass of winter and farmers are out selling their goods on Adrian Street.
As I perused the plant and vegetable stands at the Farmer’s Market this week stopping to talk with some familiar faces, an overwhelming sense of déjà vu swept over me.
“I have been here before,” I thought to myself.
A quick glance my desk calendar confirmed my suspicions. Last Thursday marked my two year anniversary as editor of The Manchester Enterprise and my time here in Manchester.
“Has it really been two years?” I thought to myself.
As they say, “Time flies when your having fun.”
And it has been fun. I have enjoyed meeting the many individuals and groups in town. Many of whom that has taken the time to share some very unique and inspiring stories with me.
Some of my favorite interviewees have been Don Limpert and his collection of Civil War memorabilia, Barry and Peggy Allen and their quest to start a Lions Club, and MHS Drama teacher Emily Prosser.
Still others have touched me with their personal crusades to bring about education and research (Christie Taylor and the Buddy Walk or Chris Fegan and the Relay for Life).
Of course, the most exciting part of my job is attending the various festivals and events that are put on throughout the year in Manchester. I still remember my very first community event–– The Manchester Men’s Club Blues & Ribs Fest –– and my anxiety of not knowing who Bob Rhees was (after all the members of the club referred my inquiries to him). Two years later, the Enterprise has a great working relationship with Bob, Jack Summers and the rest of the Men’s Club.
If I had to count the number of stories I have written over the years, I’d guess it is over 100. The number of notebooks filled from cover to cover with phone numbers, notes and quotes, can speak for themselves.
Of course, these are not just notes scribbled on a piece of paper. A reporter’s notebooks are filled with stories that serve as a record of who the people were in the communities that the newspaper covers.
Though periodically my office receives calls from readers asking for more local content, I feel my staff writer and I give readers a pretty good sampling of the news in our little nitch of Washtenaw County.
Ed Patino, our sports writer, has done a tremendous job covering the various sports teams in town. Sometimes I think he has a lot harder of a job than I do because everyone wants his or her son or daughter’s record-breaking long jump or touchdown pass mentioned in the paper.
For the two years I have been in Manchester, the newspaper has had the privilege of covering some of our athletes’ greatest achievements. From the Manchester High School wrestling team’s successful seasons to the equestrian, cheerleading and football team’s many successes. Our sports pages are lit up every week with achievements from Manchester’s youth and teens.
As newspapers across the country continue to face the challenges of decreasing readership, low advertising and subscriptions and smaller staffs, I am optimistic that my staff and I will continue to bring hometown news to the people of Manchester.
I also encourage readers to support their local newspaper –– whether it’s the Enterprise, Saline Reporter, Detroit Free Press or Ann Arbor News. The writers, editors, advertising consultants, managers and clerks that make up a newspaper’s staff are all good people who are dedicated and work hard at what they do. And they take pride in what they do.
The Pultizer Prize winning author Richard Kluger once said, “Every time a newspaper dies, even a bad one, the country moves a little closer to authoritarianism; when a great one goes, history itself is denied a devoted witness.”
I hope, as newspapers press forward, I will continue to be the voice of the Manchester community. Thank you for sharing your stories with me.