Help wanted: The Lyons Mirror-Sun is looking for a community minded individual to help produce this newspaper in a full-time position. Challenges are likely, enjoyment is expected, and fulfillment is guaranteed. For a season or for a career, if this sounds like something you would enjoy, or at least enjoy talking about, give me a call at (402) 380-4316 or call Executive Editor Kevin Bumgarner at (402) 426-2121, ext. 109.
Until such time as we can find an individual to discover the exciting opportunity to get paid while doing what I find to be an incredibly rewarding vocation, yours truly will continue to try and accomplish that task. I thought I might share just what it is that gives me the drive to continue as a small-town journalist.
For those who may not know, my calling in life is to be a pastor. I have served the First Baptist Church in Oakland since 1996. A few years into that calling, the late Dewaine Gahan, former co-publisher of the Lyons Mirror-Sun and Oakland Independent newspaper, invited me to share in that task by simply developing film and preparing photographs for publication.
The part-time job was fun and educational. When the newspapers were sold to what is now Enterprise Media Group in 2007, it was never my intent to continue employment in the industry. But I was invited to stay on staff and begin writing. As a reporter I was asked to consider becoming assistant editor and then the editor of the Oakland Independent. Soon after, I accepted the same role in Lyons with assistance throughout the years.
You may be asking what it is exactly that would have drawn me into the current responsibility? It’s really simple. I love people.
As a pastor, it has been my desire to build relationships within the community I serve. The newspaper has allowed me to do that on a grand scale. In that endeavor, I have found the newspaper also to be an incredible tool to expand my understanding of life. There is so much filling my little brain that I never dreamed of learning. Do you know how a sewer treatment plant works? I do. You get the point.
In addition to the opportunity to meet new people and expand my horizons, I have found the newspaper to be a great career while raising a family.
Let’s be honest, when it comes to our children, it is painful to have to miss their activities because of work. As a journalist in a small town, attending school activities is a great source of news content. If I am going to be at the winter concert for my kids, why not get paid to be there as well?
The same can be said about school board and city council meetings. Being engaged in your community should be the goal of everyone. Knowing what is happening at the administrative level in school and city government should concern us all. As a small-town journalist, you get to attend those meetings without pretense.
Confessing that this is not for everyone, I do know that when the right person gets plugged into the right profession, magic happens.
With that said, let me extend an invitation to come be a part of a rewarding career while finding fulfillment in serving your community through the Lyons Mirror-Sun.
If you have even the slightest interest, give me or Kevin a call. We would love to visit with you. Who knows, you may find this to be just what you are looking for.
