As I was saying: TPA 101 Class

You know, I’ve been fortunate enough to be a member of the Texas Press Association for a long time now. A really looooong time.
And I think I have earned the distinction of being the longest serving TPA board member in the history of the TPA.
In all this time I have observed a few things I’d like to share with those of you who are just beginning your trek through the TPA jungle.
1. Seek out those veteran members in TPA. Better yet, let veteran TPA members into your life when they approach you. I was very lucky to meet Bob Hamilton, publisher of the Iowa Park Leader and former TPA president, when I first got involved in the North & East Texas Press Association and TPA. Bob kind of took me under his wing. I figure he thought I was such a lost goose and scared to death that someone had to look after this shy kid from East Texas. So, each convention he would always wave me over to his place at the hotel bar and share newspaper war stories with me and many others. It was like taking a master’s class in college. Bob was our Yoda of the day.
I miss Bob a lot and wish all of you had been around when Bob held court. I hope I told him how much it meant to me for him to share his time and knowledge with me. I think I did, but if I didn’t – Dolores and Kari, thanks for sharing Bob with us all.
2. Don’t just attend TPA events. I know, I know – I have preached this until I am blue in the face, and you are tired of hearing it. But get involved with your regional press associations. Yes, it costs money to be a member – a big $100 a year in some cases – and yes, it costs money to send people to the conventions. However, what you will get in return for attending conventions and participating in contests is priceless. Not only will you learn how to put out a better newspaper and digital product, but you will meet others who are in the same leaky boat as you are. That alone helps give you confidence to plow your way forward and keep your head above water.
3. Volunteer for contest judging, legislative lobbying, whatever needs to be done. The TPA staff is no longer big. In the old days (there he is sounding like an old coot again) the old TPA office was bustling with staff. But in today’s scaled back world, there are a handful of people doing the work of a dozen fulltime staffers. Shoot, folks – Mike Hodges, our executive director, is the one making your press cards these days. Mike says he enjoys it, but he probably just likes laughing at all the silly faces on my past press cards and watching the color of my hair go from black to gray.
4.Please bring auction items to the convention and pry open that tight wallet of yours and bid on stuff. And please always top my last bid. I can’t tell you how many times I have bid on things to get the ball rolling and the ball has wound up rolling back on me. My lovely bride Suzanne was always amazed how we arrived using one luggage cart and always left with two carts in tow and two trips to the car.
Robert Burns, former Sprint rep, use to bid on things for me – without my knowledge, of course. Such a thoughtful friend. And I must admit I might have signed Robert’s name to a few auction items over the years – like golf trips or fishing trips in the Gulf or even maybe Houston Rockets tickets behind the bench. Now you know why your phone bill was so high – they had to counter for Robert’s expense account.
Remember, money raised through the auction goes for scholarships and newspaper training for you and your staff.
5. Finally, get involved in your community. I mean, get REAL involved. Don’t become the story, but don’t just report on what happens. Become part of the solution.
As many of you know, my late beloved wife Suzanne was instrumental in saving the Gladewater library after last year’s winter storm destroyed the roof and left ruptured water pipes filling the building and causing damage to books, furniture, and most electronic equipment. She not only fought to save the library, which the city wanted to abandon due to a lack of extra funds, but she worked hard to secure $80,000 in grants. And she begged and got help from library experts in the redesign of the library to bring it into the 21st Century. Soon our people not only will be able to check out books and audio and video products, but also hold tele-med visits with their doctor or private video calls with potential employers and government agencies like Social Security and the IRS. Our library will be a full-service information hub for ALL the people in our town and it will be free to all.
I am happy to report that thanks to the actions of our city council on April 21, the library will be renamed in Suzanne’s honor – joining the founder who built the building decades ago to create the Lee-Bardwell Memorial Library.
What an honor to be bestowed on such a special lady — a fierce fighter for her fellow man and a defender of our profession. She was not afraid to use the power of the press to do what was right for our community.
You can make a difference, too. I urge you to step out your office’s front door and look down your street and find something you can fix or make better. Leave your world a better place than you found it. Suzanne did and will continue to do so for generations to come.
Folks, your community needs you. So does your newspaper community— the Texas Press Association. TPA is there for you, so you need to be there for TPA.