| July 2005 | |
Lagniappe! TPA is a little something extra
Lagniappe! la-gniappe /lan-yap [French] - a little something extra When I was trying to decide on a name for this monthly column, I thought about what Texas Press Association does for its members. Lagniappe, pronounced lan-yap, is a word from my Cajun youth that means “a little something extra.” It came to mind because of that meaning and I think it aptly describes TPA. In Louisiana, lagniappe is a very common word. Restaurants, cookbooks, magazines and even some newspapers are called lagniappe. The TPA staff always does so much extra to help member newspapers. They give a lot of lagniappe. Picking the name for my column was easy but putting the words on paper is the tricky part. The inaugural column — what to write, what to write? For me writing opinion pieces and personal columns is the hardest part of putting out a newspaper. With news stories I can rely on the facts and sources and the story practically writes itself. In a column though all I have are my own thoughts, some you may like and some you may not, but that’s what newspapering is all about. So if you’re going to be reading my monthly lagniappe, maybe you should know a little about who I am. I am a mother of two and a grandmother who has been married to the same man forever. If you’ve been to TPA conventions I’m sure you’ve met my husband, Buddy, the not so shy one. He’s my partner in life and in business. In fact Buddy is so deep in the operation here at The Hometown Press that when folks stop by with ads or news tidbits they usually talk to him and not me. I’ve been in the newspaper business since the 1970s. That’s a little lagniappe. Ever since my newspaper became a TPA member it has been comforting to call the association office and reach a friendly voice. The TPA staff always provides whatever help you need and always knows the answers to all aspects of the newspaper business. When I began on my journey many years ago to one day become TPA president, I’ll admit I was a little apprehensive, but the support of the TPA staff, officers and other board members has made it easy. More lagniappe. In a recent letter to the board, TPA executive director Mike Hodges said he had a lot of positive feedback about the large Texas flags that served as backdrops for our speakers during the 126th Summer Convention last month in Las Colinas. TPA has purchased the flags and plans to continue using them at future conventions. I think this is a great idea and not being a native Texan, even though I got here as fast as I could, I am always amazed at how proud Texans are of their state. And they should be. I am looking forward to working with all TPA members to make this a great year. I’m also thrilled that this year I will have the opportunity to attend all the regional press conventions and the National Newspaper Association meetings. My goals during my term are two-fold — getting more members involved in Newspaper In Education and developing an internship program. Both of these projects will help increase newspaper readership among young people, which is key to our industry’s survival. It is indeed an honor to be elected president of Texas Press Association. I never would have dreamed I would one day be president, let alone have the chance to serve as the second part of back-to-back women presidencies, a first for TPA Must be that lagniappe again. |
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