As a journalist, I am committed to informing people about what is happening in their communities and elsewhere. Telling others' stories is a duty and a privilege.
I have spent my career as a newspaper editor, reporter and columnist. I started right at Anthony Wayne High School and most recently worked at The Blade, where I was an online editor and covered Perrysburg and Perrysburg Township government as a reporter.
At The Lima News, I was a quality control editor, which honed my attention to detail and developed my tandem motto: "Everybody needs an editor" and "The deadline is the ultimate inspiration."
At The Courier in Findlay, I was the first to serve in a newsroom editorial position created specifically to manage content on the newspaper's website. National disaster level flooding forced us to step up our game, and we responded with the most valuable outlet for information the area community needed in this crisis and the following years of mitigation.
This also taught me a great deal about how changes in technology can transform an industry, how important it is to collaborate with coworkers and to help people adjust to changes, and how to problem-solve on the fly.
My northward journey along I-75 culminated in my "home" newspaper, The Blade. This was my first job in a guild, a union, and it renewed my passion for fair and equitable policies for workers. I loved my "web desk" job but the hours and stresses were tough as our family was growing and my husband's work and military service kept him out of town (and out of country) for months at a time.
I took a reporting post, the first since my freshman year in college at The Daily Orange at Syracuse University, and contributed to the OurTowns coverage of Perrysburg and Perrysburg Township. The beat was a great education about local politics and public service.
With a heavy heart I walked away from the newspaper, to devote myself to raising our toddler and seeing our oldest through his final year at Anthony Wayne High School. But I also had a new opportunity, one in which I could never participate as a credible journalist: public service.
I now can be on the other side of the fence, so to speak. I can take public stances on issues that are important to my family and my neighbors. I can volunteer in more organizations, and I can serve as a village council member.
Journalism to public service is a logical step. I am a professional question asker, after all. I can unbury details, I can accurately record what people say and do, I can analyze and synthesize the issues and find the solutions.
Whitehouse Village Council needs members who can do that. I will serve council and the community with attention to detail, articulate communication, and the truth.
