It’s my anniversary, and I’m still in love.
Forgive me for getting all goopy and personal, but for me, March 1 (as I write this) is a significant milestone. I’ve made it through a whole year in my wonderful new job, navigating a steep learning curve and trying not to do anything spectacularly stupid.
When I arrived at The Western Producer, I thought ha! A weekly! I can do this standing on my head, after decades of working at a daily paper.
Well, that lame-brained assumption proved ridiculous. The Producer is an incredibly busy place, always bustling and madly rocketing toward every production deadline. It’s a weekly dash to press time, and speaking strictly for myself, we are never bored. It’s nice to work in a place where the days fly by.
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The production of 52 papers, though, isn’t all that has happened to me in the last year.
There were a number of highlights, including attending the National Agri-Marketing Association conference in Kansas City, Missouri, which as my first big event was quite an eye-opener. The flight back was bizarre because of crazy weather, but I survived, physically if not mentally.
Then there was the annual staff conference, which brought together our Saskatoon staff and correspondents for two days of discussion and, of course, food.
Starting in the summer, we began to plan our Christmas edition, lovingly referred to as Issue 52, which turned out to be a beautiful thing popping with spring-like photos.
I had a great visit with our Manitoba correspondents and enjoyed getting a better picture of the grain marketing-related companies and organizations in downtown Winnipeg.
I loved attending the Farm Progress Show and Canadian Western Agribition, where an auction was a highlight of my sheltered life.
In between, I’ve signed countless pieces of paper (thousands, I’m sure), proofed approximately 4,576 pages, and written something like 48 columns and several editorials. All of it was great.
I wish I had room in this space to specifically thank every member of the newsroom and describe what I have learned from them, professionally and personally. They have taught me many things, patiently and kindly, and I’m so grateful.
Now that I’m a year into my dream job, I’m going to stop pinching myself, and just look forward to the future. See you there.
