My community college career (ahem, a generous description for sure) ended a few months into my sophomore year. I was hired full time into my dream job and assumed I’d always have time to go back and get my degree.
There have been a few false starts on that effort over the years, but it hasn’t happened.
I have been learning every day of my life, however, watching closely and observing others, and I’ve been lucky to witness amazing “teachers” in real-world situations delivering master classes on all sorts of topics.
There are great leaders working behind the scenes all the time. When you have the chance to be around those people, watch, listen and learn. They are leading humbly and effectively “from the back of the boat.” And there’s nothing wrong with that.
There are terrific leaders we know and see, too, whether this crisis has brought their already important contributions to the surface or required them to rise to the occasion. They demonstrate in public what is best about us. They don’t demonstrate sainthood or perfection. No, they model what public service is all about, and there’s nothing wrong with that, either.
We’re only just beginning to see the deadly consequences of our heel-dragging in reaction to this crisis on a global and national level. It doesn’t have to continue at the local level. Gov. Brown has taken early and aggressive action. So have the mayors of Springfield and Creswell, and community leaders in Cottage Grove.
Mayor Richard Zettervall has been an early and consistent source of Lane County Public Health news releases. Michelle Amberg, Creswell’s city manager, has actively communicated on all available platforms – helping residents and small-business owners know their options for safety and support.
Spending more than a decade in the TV business taught me a few things about urgency. Do you ever recall seeing a “black screen” with no sound and wondered what was happening? Well, here’s what’s happening: A technological glitch or human error is costing the company thousands of dollars each second in “paybacks” to advertisers.
A black screen means financial death, by the second. People better act quickly to identify and solve it; and then make sure it never happens again.
In terms of our reaction to COVID-19, Every. Second. Counts. Indecision is death.
The Chronicle, by its nature and by our stated mission, assumes the role of community voice, presenter of ideas, thought-starter. We offer content with integrity and delivered in a respectful way – whether it’s in person, in print or online.
Today we announce one of the most significant milestones in The Chronicle’s 111-year history with the relaunch of our website, chronicle1909.com. The URL reflects our name and our heritage.
And now the site reflects our mission to serve you with great utility, hyper-local news, and unique-and-differentiating storytelling – continuously and in real time.
There was a practical business imperative to upgrade our website. It’s possible that our printer and/or the US Postal Service might not be able to fulfill their roles as government regulations become more restrictive during the pandemic. We can now make sure we’re serving you even if we can’t print or deliver the weekly paper for a period of time.
The Chronicle team continues working hard, and our mission isn’t going to change. We are facing financial challenges like any small business in a rural community might.
Here’s how we’re pivoting to remain solvent, and serve residents. We’re going to make sure you are informed about healthcare and finances, two of the most important issues right now. We can cover those important topics in large measure because of our advertisers. They are “Constitutional champions,” keeping local journalism alive.
Visit them. Support them. Demand their best, and they’ll deliver for you, the customer, Who Is Always Right.
Our local business owners are here literally to serve you. They strategize around it, lose sleep over it, skip meals working on it, and have “inside baseball” discussions with anyone who will listen.
Are you into your job? Believe me, so is the small-business owner – now grasping for financial aid and support as the fallout from COVID-19 destroys their life’s work.
Again, at The Chronicle, our mission hasn’t changed. With the advent of COVID-19 and the relaunch of chronicle1909.com, however, everything else has.
Noel Nash is publisher of The Chronicle.
