I learned several things over the weekend as I attended the joint North & East Texas Press Association/West Texas Press Association conventions: how valuable it is to share information with peers, how good it feels to do normal things and that I make a pretty good ‘Vanna.’
This is actually my 14th year at the Dublin Citizen although it is only my second as Managing Editor. I’ve always known about these conventions and even selected articles and pictures to enter as contest entries, but this is the first time I’ve ever attended.
This might be partially due to my girlfriend, Wyndi, being the president of the North and East Texas Press Association.
I take every opportunity to brag on her accomplishments, because as a writer and editor, I’ve seen how seriously she takes the job and how well she conducts herself.
I bragged about dating the NETPA President several times over the past year, but when I got an email about the upcoming convention, I opened it and said, “Ohhhhh.... I guess I have to actually go to that this year.”
“You’re darn right you do!” Wyndi said (or words to that effect).
As I selected contest entries and got into correspondence with the convention organizers, I was told more than once: “I’m looking forward to finally meeting you.”
It was at this point that I realized that many at these conventions would be Facebook Friends of Wyndi who have seen multiple posts about us dating. (Although I’m not great at the social media game, she misses no opportunity to share so several of my friends have added her just to see what’s going on with me.)
After realizing this, I started joking that I was going mainly as arm candy for my executive girlfriend and also consistently made sure that there was no bias in contest selection. (She reported how our relationship was unknown to contest judges before selection in every case.)
I made the arm candy joke to a veteran publisher when the convention was starting.
His response: “Well, you are [arm candy], aren’t ya?”
This set the stage for meeting a large group of publishers, editors and reporters who were eager to share information and stories that could help others in the industry and passionate about the communities they serve. Some were from towns several hours away that I hadn’t heard of. Some were neighbors I hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting. (Hi Hamilton Herald-News!) In all cases, I enjoyed hanging out, learning and sharing information.
In our down time, Wyndi and I traveled around Rockwall, went out to eat, shopped at a Half Price Books and took in our first movie since the pandemic was declared: “Voyagers.” (Short review: It’s a decent retelling of “Lord of the Flies” in space. It’s pretty tense with some cool photography.)
Excluding the amazing company, these excursions would have been commonplace in 2018, but having been through quarantines and restrictions, I treasured spending some time doing normal things with someone I care about.
Indeed, someone I care enough about to act as ‘go-fer’ during the convention helping organize awards and retrieving anything she needed.
This led to my brief stint as the ‘Vanna White’ during the ceremony, handing out the NETPA awards on Saturday.
I can honestly say it was my first task in ‘smiling and looking pretty’-at least I succeeded in the first part!
I gained a new respect for every board member and pageant winner that’s ever handed out awards since there are a lot more considerations than I realized. What do you say as you hand them the award? “Congrats” was my go-to. How far do you walk forward in presenting the award? In one case, I walked it all the way to the table of a distracted recipient.
At the end of the weekend, I met a lot of fun people I respect and got some knowledge on top of it all. I almost wish I hadn’t skipped the convention for 13 years.
Paul Gaudette is the managing editor at the Dublin Citizen and can be reached at 445-2515 and publisher@dublincitizen. com.