Change is never easy, and we’ve had a bunch of it around our office lately.
A young colleague whom I respected very much, the kind of person who is talented, who you can count on, and who is a go-getter, moved on not long ago.
It happens a lot in our kind of business, people fresh out of college come in, hone their skills and move on to bigger and better bylines.
Only this time around, it’s been harder to find the right fit to fill those shoes. Right now my managing editor, myself and another colleague are holding things together until another young reporter - a freelancer and a promising talent – graduates in May.
Still, I’m not complaining about the opportunity to get back out on the street and do some meeting and event reporting. It’s good to keep you skills up. And,
I always meet the nicest potential story prospects – I mean people – when I’m out in the community covering other things.
A more challenging upheaval for me was losing Prime’s graphic designer mid-issue this month. Once again, it was a case of someone wanting more, but when you and that person have worked closely together on the look and feel of a product month after month for quite awhile, the parting is a bit jarring.
Dear Andrea, I wish you well.
Nevertheless, despite the upheaval for my publication, I was never really worried about how Prime would turn out this month. We’re blessed with an extremely talented graphic design staff here at Reminder Publications, and I’ve worked with all of them for many years. May’s issue isn’t the first time graphic design manager Beth Thurber and I have had to pull together to get a project done. As Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club co-founder Jonathan Moss said of Dragon Boating in this month’s feature “We’re all in the same boat together” – and we know how to work together to get to the finish line.
Speaking of pulling together, Prime is pleased to be working with state Sen. Eric Lesser on a re-boot of a popular early summer event. Lesser will be hosting a “Thrive After 55 Wellness Fair” - a gathering similar to something state Sen. Brian Lees hosted some years back – at Western New England University on June 9. We hope to see many of our readers there!
Debbie Gardner
debbieg@thereminder.com
