— Letter from the Editor January 2012
That’s right, I have about 100 issues with Fairview… or The Fairview Town Crier to be correct. Recently while pondering the topic I would settle upon for my yearly “Letter from the Editor” and while simultaneously sorting through over four bins of past issues of the newspaper, I hit upon it. Issues. Wow, I had overseen the production of one heck of a lot of issues of this newspaper.
Let’s see, I started writing articles for the Crier along with other volunteers in early 2003, back when Michael Cochran was editor. I loved writing for Michael. He was always so calm and in control and there were never any typos in the paper back then. He was very supportive of my work (as well as the volunteer writers). While I had been a professional writer before moving to Fairview, it was always of a different nature… promotional or marketing copywriting, technical (detailed) writing, feature articles in trade magazines, even creative writing but all very different from sitting down over a cup of tea in someone’s home and interviewing them. Listening. Learning about a different culture. Respecting a different age. I was becoming familiar with a deeper sense of community than I had ever known and I was drawn to it
Sometime around the May 2003 issue, my left brain kicked into high alert as the appearance of the paper had begun to change. Everything used to be lined up with ads fitting into their proper space and no “white space” holes floating mid page. The words were still there to feed my right brain, but the logic and order of things seemed amiss. I had been earning my living at the time as art director/advertising manager for two professional trade magazines out of Los Angeles. I was churning out one after the other, month after month, many over 84 pages. I had been doing this for quite a number of years so it was second nature. After a brief conversation as to who had been doing the layout and who was now doing the layout, Michael Cochran responded with a somewhat sheepish… you?
Oh my. Seems Ricki Cochran who had been doing a splendid job had taken a fulltime job and moved off the paper. A friend had filled in who was now going overseas for an extended period of time. Oh my. And that LA job was getting mighty tense about that same time. Once you leave that environment, it becomes near impossible to keep connecting with it. Might I say downright distasteful at times (no offense to any transplants, please). So that is how I started handling the production of the Crier. Changes made were mostly because of the software and tools I had at my disposal. Tried to keep the original feeling and look of the paper while updating and expanding a bit. This is what I have always tried to do and will continue to do.
The story continues. About one month into my new position, Michael informed me that he would be moving into a fulltime position elsewhere, as well and he thought I would make a terrific editor. Oh my. Oh my. Oh my.
So, never one to shy from a challenge, I prepared a proposal and introduced myself and my ideas to the Fairview Town Crier Board of Directors.
Editor’s Sidetrack Note: Did you know the Crier was a nonprofit 501 3 (c) business with a board of directors? Many don’t but it is that status, and the public support that allows us to keep that status, that enables us to mail the newspaper free to every resident in Fairview, parts of Fletcher that should be Fairview, and now Gerton — soon Reynolds, as well.
The rest, as “they” say, is history. So here we are, 100 issues in, and I must confess there are times I struggle with the constant pressure of the looming deadline. Those are the days when I find myself still in my robe and slippers at 1 pm in the afternoon and I have already put in 10 hours and have only half an hour to upload the files to the printer who will spit out the whole 6,600 copies in about a heartbeat (It’s actually 1:27 pm now).
And then there is the worry (which is not comfortable for a person who typically does not worry.) The worry that I have forgotten something that is very important to one person in our community. That I got a date wrong for a fundraising event. That I didn’t get that classified ad in for the person who so desperately needs to earn a little money. I tell you it is the profound responsibility to each of you that makes me worry and nothing more.
The physical toll of spending so many hours at the computer is not fun, but I’m learning to stretch (every hour???) and do my neck exercises and take walks. (Thank goodness for my dog and her pitiful looks that propel me out into the fresh air).
So, after all this whining, why do I do it? It’s quite simple. It gets back to that “deeper sense of community than I had ever known” that I felt in my very early days with the Crier. I was drawn to it then and I am addicted to it now. Every issue I feel infused by it. When I receive an email from someone whose daughter organized a “Locks for Cancer” day at school. Or from a local church holding a fundraising event for a family who lost everything. Or from a community center organizing food for a bedridden neighbor. Or an envelope with a five dollar bill and a “thank you” from someone who probably can’t afford it.
Our community. Our readers. I am addicted to you. I love you and am so grateful that you let me (and the Crier) be a part of your lives and community.
And with this 100th issue, I have managed to avoid any controversial topics, words of wisdom about the past, or words of optimism about the future. I have just simply given you a little glimpse into me and what makes me tick. If you find yourself in need of a little community “fix” please come on down to our labeling session (date and time on page 2)… enter our writing contest (page 17)… stop by the Welcome Table for lunch some Thursday (at the community room of Fairview Christian fellowship) or volunteer at the Lord’s Acre sometime (see page 30 for website) but watch out, 2012 is an election year… and please forgive me my typos! — Sandie Rhodes
About Sandie Rhodes, Editor
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