This is my team. My crew. My tribe.
And, right at this moment, I’m so phenomenally proud and honoured to work with them that I just can’t stop myself from blogging about them.
(I only wish that the two absent members of the team, Theresa McManus and Pat Tracy, could have been here for the photo. But this applies to them, too.)
It’s been a kind of a crazy month in the NOW newsroom, for all kinds of reasons. But if true character is shown in times of adversity, then all these fine people have proven their mettle – and then some.
It’s been a time of great personal struggle for some. Those who have faced great adversity have done so with grace and with strength. They have shown dedication to their jobs and consideration beyond the call of duty to their co-workers when most of us would have wanted to crawl under the covers and never come out.
It’s been a time of great professional challenge for others. Thrust into jobs that were unfamiliar and, in some cases, daunting, those people rose with that above-mentioned grace and strength into the roles required of them – and did so with confidence and panache.
It’s been a time of learning for many. From the newest kid on the block (our keen and eager intern Ethan Reyes) to the longest-serving member of the team currently here (our relentlessly reliable sports editor Tom Berridge), every single person on this team has taken on jobs that were unfamiliar or outside of the regular scheme of things – and done so with nothing less than success.
It’s been a time of chaos for all. A time when the workload seems too heavy, the staffing seems too light and there just seem to be too many jobs to go around. And each and every person in this team has just gotten it done. Where there could have been complaints about having to do someone else’s job, or panic about the way the world was crumbling, there was nothing but positivity and the kind of get-‘er-done attitude that infects everyone who comes into contact with it.
Each and every one of these people has made sure that we have endeavoured to fulfill our mission – to bring the stories of Burnaby to your home computers and your doorsteps – with the kind of caring, concern and commitment to our community that we know our readers deserve.
Each summer I get a chance to “lead” this team. But this year I feel less like a leader and more like a student, humbled and inspired by the wisdom, the enthusiasm, the passion and the dedication of the wonderful group of people who make up this team.
Tom Berridge. Cayley Dobie. Janaya Fuller-Evans. Theresa McManus. Jennifer Moreau. Cornelia Naylor. Ethan Reyes. Tereza Verenca. And, temporarily away but never far from us in spirit, Pat Tracy.
This one’s for you, guys. I’m proud to be a member of your tribe.
Man, motherhood has made me mushy.
Now get back to work already. We have pages to fill.
