Please allow me to introduce myself...

This is my maiden voyage into the blogging world. Let me introduce myself and tell you a few things about my personal and professional history.

I am the newest addition to the Tyler Star News, and I am happy to be here. I am a Pleasants County native and have lived there for most of my life - I ventured out into the wide world for a few years (living the gypsy life while married to a construction worker) but have been back at the "home place" since 1986.

I have three grown children who are my best friends and biggest supporters: Jessica and Matthew Foster, and Ryan Greynolds. Jessica works for Childrens' Home Society and is the truancy diversion worker at VanDevender Junior High in Parkersburg; Matt has two of the hardest jobs in the world (in my opinion) - he is a line cook at the Fireside Restaurant in St. Marys. and a single custodial father; Ryan works at Outback in Parkersburg, is a talented musician, and has a black belt in kung-fu.

Jess is the mother of a beautiful 18 month old boy, Noa, and Matt is the father of my awesome almost-ten-year old granddaughter, Raelen. Both Jess and Matt are single parents who are doing an incredible job of raising their children. I am a hands-on grandma who is ready and willing to pitch in and help them out. My grandchildren are the joy of my life - proof that not killing my own kids was worth it!

I graduated from St. Marys High School and much later, West Virginia University-Parkersburg, with an A.A. in Journalism. I am thrilled and a little initimidated to be the new reporter at the Tyler Star News. Sometimes, when you want something so much, for so long, and it finally comes true, you don’t trust that it’s real. That’s how I feel about my job.

I’ve been fascinated by journalism since I was a youngster. My first exposure to the craft was writing for the Pleasants County 4-H camp newspaper. How much fun we had, gathering “news” on our fellow campers and publishing random tidbits about camp.

In high school I was on the newspaper and yearbook staffs. By now a confirmed journalism “geek,” I wrote for the St. Marys Argus and did page layout for the yearbook. A brief interlude at Glenville State College majoring in Language Arts also included newspaper and yearbook stints. Marriage and motherhood, followed by divorce and single-parenthood, sidetracked my career plans for a while, but I never lost sight of my dream. A short stint at the St. Marys Oracle exposed me to the pleasures of working for a weekly newspaper and whetted my appetite for more. Consequently, when my youngest (Ryan) started kindergarten, I enrolled at West Virginia Unversity-Parkersburg and pursued my goal.

After two years of study, I had attained my A.A. in journalism. Ready to fullfil my goal and meet my destiny, I began looking for my dream job. I looked and looked for a job and spent months unemployed and depressed. I got so desperate I was applying for any work at all, and the only position offered me was a spot at the concession stand, flipping hotdogs at Gabriel Brothers in Parkersburg. Discouraged and broke, I prepared to make the call and accept the position.

Miraculously, fate stepped in. I got a phone call from WVU-P’s placement office, who informed me of a position in a print shop in Vienna, WV. Was I interested in the job? Interested? Why yes, I was! They set me up with an interview and, lo and behold, I was hired.

I worked in the print shop for a year, doing various and sundry design jobs. I enjoyed the work, but the pay rate and lack of benefits was a drawback. Determined to better my circumstances, I scanned the help-wanted section of the paper religiously. I knew something promising was out there, and I intended to stake my claim.

Discovering that the Parkersburg News and Sentinel was hiring, I cobbled together a resume and applied for two positions - one in editorial, one in ad services - and interviewed for both jobs. Either job was suited to my talents and would come with benefits and insurance. Ad services offered me a position as a typesetter, and I was soon ensconced in the department, working the night shift setting ad copy, designing ads, and paginating the classifieds. I liked the work and did well, acquring valuable experience along the way.

About a year and a half later, I was offered a chance to move up in the company, working for Ogden Directories, Inc. The Ogden production department was in its infancy, taking baby steps and building a foundation for a new venue. Instead of designing ads for the newspaper, I would be designing ads for the yellow pages, working for EZ to Use Big Books. I worked for Ogden for almost seven years, utilizing my skills to create ads, do research for travel and tourism sections, design pages, and do make-ready for the press. Our company was growing by leaps and bounds. New markets were opening up. It was a challenging and time consuming job, but I enjoyed it. Our department was small and tight-knit, and we worked hard as a team. I thought I had finally found my niche and was content.

Well, as the old saying goes, “people plan, God laughs.” One sunny day in May, soon after arriving at my desk, I was informed of a meeting in the conference room. Expecting to hear an announcement about upcoming work, our department was stunned to learn that our jobs had been eliminated. In a matter of minutes, I had gone from gainfully employed to the ranks of the unemployed.

As I got over the shock, I decided unemployment wasn’t so bad. It was summer, and I had worked steadily for almost ten years, so it felt like a long vacation. Free time was a novelty to me, and I took full advantage of the break, vacationing with the family at the beach, spending long afternoons at our camp on Middle Island Creek and enjoying the unscheduled life. I drew unemployment for the first and only time in my life. A paycheck with no job? Sweet!

But as the days turned into months, and the unemployment ran out, I found myself once again looking for a job in my field, with no success. This time, however, no miracle happened. After subsisting on a long stretch of odd jobs, I was offered employment as a server in a local restaurant. It had been twenty-two years since I donned an apron and waited tables. I thought I would never have to do that kind of work again. Never, however, is a very long time. With a family to consider, steady employment of any kind was a necessity. The benefits of working close to home and the lure of a paycheck won out over my doubts, and with mixed feelings, I took the job. Surely, I thought, this would be a termporary solution and I would eventually find work utilizing my journalistic skills.

Of course, the job market, as we all know, has been tough.Through the intervening years, I looked for my new dream job. Time and again I was interviewed, and told “no”. Rejection took its toll. I had just about given up hope. It had been six long years with no prospects on the horizen. And then, out of a clear blue sky, I discovered the Tyler Star News was hiring. Out went my resume, fingers crossed. Pessimistic, but oddly hopeful, I waited. I got a phone call. I got an interview. And, yes, I got the job.

The good news floored me. Even though the interview had seemed to go well, I was amazed and ecstatic to get the job offer. My emotions vacillated between panic and excitement. The night before I started my job, I could barely sleep. Fear of the unknown clutched at my heart as I prepared for my first day. The moment of truth arrived. I presented myself at the newspaper with nerves on edge, took a deep breath, and plunged in.

Thankfully, my apprehension proved groundless. My co-workers at the Tyler Star News are wonderful to work with and great fun to be around. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I actually remember how to do this job, and what a relief that was! The atmosphere I had missed so much over the years enveloped me as I was re-introduced to the work I have always loved.

So, a new adventure begins. I am honored to be part of this fine organization, and happy to be employed again at a job I enjoy so much. Thank you, Tyler Star News, for allowing me to embrace my dream one more time. May I contribute faithfully and well to your body of work.

In the coming weeks and months, I hope to get to know my readers and do my best to represent on paper what is unique and special about Tyler County and its citizens. I will work hard to earn your trust and respect. I look forward to sharing my thoughts and my humble talents with you. I hope to bring a fresh eye, an attentive ear and an impartial voice to the articles I write. It’s a new voyage of discovery for me, and I invite all of you along for the cruise.