September, 2018 -- I have been truly blessed. Luckily, I am smart enough to realize that, and that has been very evident to me in recent weeks. The older I get, the more I appreciate family. Having lost both my parents and my oldest brother, the family that remains remain very dear to me. Never would I have ever expected to get as much joy as a hug from my son at the end of a bad day at work.
While work remains work, I'm lucky enough to have fewer bad days than good. And that isn't easy when you work in media. This industry continues to lurk, jerk and contort in ways never before imagined as traditional media tries to adapt to the new digital world.
Working in media, and newspapers most of my career is indeed a blessing. I have managed to feed, clothe and put a roof over my family's head for several decades. Because of that fortune, I always try to give back. I have made presentations for many organizations, I write a monthly column for a state press association and work when possible with students who are the next wave of media moguls through work with local universities.
So when I was presented with the Distinguished Service Award from the Hoosier State Press Association, I was beyond flattered; nearly speechless! It is the highest honor handed out by HSPA to an individual that has helped the association and the newspaper industry throughout the state of Indiana.
What makes the media business so amazing is the people that are dedicated to it. I still have friends from my radio days, and of course a ton of friends from my newspaper days. The common denominator of all of them is passion and creativity with a desire to serve the markets in which they are working. For me, I was fortunate enough to be with many of them at the HSPA awards presentation in Indianapolis earlier this month. I had a chance to thank them personally. For those that I didn't see, let this serve as a personal thank you for sharing your creativity, your passion and most of all, your friendship.
