Thank you for the opportunity to serve

If time flies when you’re having fun, wait until you are leading an organization like the Texas Press Association.

My term of serving the membership is over in less time than it takes a popsicle to melt on a hot Texas sidewalk. And I couldn’t be more thankful for this opportunity.

By Leonard Woolsey, TPA President

At last year’s convention, I humbly and proudly took the oath to serve the interests of newspapers across Texas. I felt like a little kid standing in my uncle’s worn roping boots.

Looking out across the room, I could see the faces of people I hold in the highest regard. Leaders in their communities, life, and newspapers. Some graying, others not so fortunate to have those silvering strands just yet. Others with smile lines framing and reflecting their positive never-say-die attitude to the powerful calling of newspapering.

And while “newspapering” might not be a fancy word found in a dictionary, I believe it reflects who we are: humble, honest, hard-working people who live to serve others.

Over the past year I’ve observed publishers standing in angry city council meetings, sweeping floors, and jumping behind a counter to make me a cup of coffee (thank you, Max!) This humble sense of service projects the true essence of newspaper folks. We are as everyday-useful as the roads running through our communities.

Serving as president of the Texas Press Association will always be among my proudest service opportunities. I thank you and those before me who paved the road for me to follow.

Let’s take a moment about where that road now leads.

While our calling to serve our community remains, the landscape is changing. And from where I stand, this opportunity is here for the taking.

In the words of Captain Augustus “Gus” McCrae, “Yesterday’s gone on down the river, and you can’t get it back.”

The world needs truth-tellers. The world needs people who aren’t afraid to call out corruption. The world needs passionate storytellers. And it needs servant leaders.

Many would argue these needs are more desperate now than ever before. So what do we do? What we’ve always done — stand tall, find a road forward, and show folks the way. Confidence —  tempered by a servant leader’s humility — is essential.

We can exhibit that confidence by sharing the data from the Texas Press Association’s third-party readership and consumer behavior study. I’ll bet you won’t get too deep in the data before you find your swagger raising its head.

More than 1,000 Texans participated in this survey, and it shows that Texas newspapers enjoy tremendous respect and support in our communities. Talk about stumbling over gold nuggets! Our job is to spread the word that newspapers are evolving right along with our communities, and that we‘re proud to serve the people who depend on us.

No one is better positioned to help lead us forward in this charge than my good friend Ken Esten Cooke, publisher of the Fredericksburg Standard. I’ve known Ken and his family for years, and he is the epitome of our membership’s needs.

A fourth-generation newspaperman, Ken has more ink in his DNA than a freshly printed set of encyclopedias. He has as much knowledge, too, which is why he’s someone I regularly call for advice. With a blend of even temperament and the work ethic that would make any Texas family proud, the Texas Press Association is in good hands.

Early on as president of the Texas Press Association, you realize the job will always be incomplete. You only get to move the membership forward as far as you can before it’s time to pass the hammer. And as I said earlier, passing the hammer to my good friend Ken is the perfect punctuation.

I will forever consider the opportunity to serve the members of the Texas Press Association as one of the most rewarding chapters in my life. I thank my wife, Maryrine, for helping keep this held-together-with-bailing-wire presidency together. She will testify this can be a lot of work.

And I would also like to thank Mike Hodges and Donnis Baggett. Much like the scene in Wizard of Oz, they hide behind the curtain and do much of the critical work that allows the organization and members to succeed. I will cherish our road trips across Texas, shared laughter, and sitting for hours with elected officials in Austin to influence crucial legislation.

This journey has been the ride of a lifetime. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the opportunity to serve you.

God bless you, yours, and the great state of Texas.