| August 2005 | |
Regionals evoke newspaper camaraderie
One of the joys of being president of Texas Press Association is traveling to all parts of this great state to represent TPA at the five regional press associations. In case you missed last month’s column and wondered about my curious Cajun column sig, I am not a native Texan so I am anxious to visit other parts of the Lone Star State over the next 12 months. A couple of weeks into my presidency I’d barely gotten my feet wet when Buddy and I headed off to San Angelo for the West Texas Press Association convention. The event was July 21-23 at the San Angelo Inn and Conference Center. I have been involved with Texas Gulf Coast Press Association for many years and serve as its current secretary but I’d never been to a West Texas Press meeting. WTPA calls itself the world’s biggest regional press association so it’s no wonder the association put on a great convention that lived up to that name. The convention was outstanding and the speakers were excellent. One of my favorites was Jon Krakauer author of “Into Thin Air,” which chronicles his personal account of the 1996 fateful trek up Mount Everest. Krakauer showed slides and narrated as he described the journey in which several climbers and guides lost their lives and others were severely injured. The author did a terrific job of retelling the tale and making it come alive for the WTPA audience. Buddy and I also were impressed by another author Elmer Kelton who told an inspiring personal story of how his ranching family wanted him to continue in that business but he instead chose to work in newspapers. In fact, we enjoyed Kelton so much that we stopped and bought some of his books before leaving San Angelo. The other speakers — Harley Hitchcock of TPA; John McCormack of the San Antonio Express-News; Tumbleweed Smith; and Jerry Lyles of American Profile — also were great and informative. We learned a lot and took back an idea or two to our newspaper. We also met a lot of newspaper folks who do not normally attend TPA conventions and caught up with others we usually see once or twice a year. Throughout it all, the WTPA membership made us feel right at home. There is a certain camaraderie among newspaper publishers that is unlike other businesses. It’s comforting to talk to your peers and realize that we are all facing the same issues, whether the newspaper is on the Gulf Coast or in West Texas. The next regional meeting won’t be until the spring but I am already looking forward to seeing another part of the state, meeting more newspaper peers and representing TPA as your president. Again thank you for this honor. |
|
