Don't call it a comeback

It's not enough for a newspaper to cover the community, it also needs to talk to the community.

This piece of sage advice came from Virginia Parker recently.

This comment, along with her involvement in the community prior to her time with the Saratoga

Sun, made it quite obvious she would be a good fit for the position of publisher. This hasn't

stopped the amount of times I get asked if I'm back with the Saratoga Sun following my brief

departure from print this last summer. Though I may be seen around the Valley and can be

found in the Saratoga Sun office on a regular basis, I'm technically not with the Saratoga Sun.

I now serve in the role of operations director for Stevenson Newspapers, which owns the Sun

and other newspapers. This means I'm no longer involved in the day-to-day operations of the

Sun, or any of the other newspapers in the organization. Instead, one of the aspects of my

position is to serve as a resource for publishers like Virginia.

The author Ayesha Siddiqi once wrote "Be the person you needed when you were younger."

I've taken this into my philosophy for being operations director. My goal is to be the person I

needed when I was a publisher. I will always remember the days and weeks following the

passing of Keith McLendon, when it felt like one newspaper came out right after another and

there wasn't even room to breathe.

Fortunately, I had the likes of my mother, Liz Wood, sharing her insight with me. I also had the

owner of the Saratoga Sun available and it wasn't uncommon for Dick Perue to come through

the office door to share his insight.

Now, nearly four years later, I find myself giving advice to not just one but multiple new

publishers. Some are like me, a little bit of experience in the industry before being thrust into a

new position. Others have experience in the industry from their respective departments, but

leading a newspaper is an entirely new adventure. Either way, I tell each of them that I'm

available whenever possible to answer questions, give guidance or even provide some support

in the form of kudos and accolades.

As the snow begins to thaw, people will see me in the Sun office less often. Once the roads

clear, I'll be heading off to other newspapers and other locations. Until then, I'll be here giving

Virginia, Dee Dee and Dallas whatever support they need to put out a quality product for their

readers.