8.29.13 Editor’s Desk

Four years is a long time. Granted, it’s not a milestone by any means and doesn’t really qualify for grand celebrations (unless you just secured a term as President). But it takes as many years to graduate from high school and the same number of full years to complete college – at least for a typical full-time student in search of a Bachelors’ Degree.

So it struck me earlier this month when someone asked me how long I had been editor of Watermark that I responded with “four years at the end of August.” Time seems to have rushed past me in a gust of wind.

I vividly remember when our publisher, Tom Dyer, asked me to take the helm of the newspaper. I also remember my terror when I sat in front of my computer for my very first issue as full-time editor trying to figure out our cover image as I wrangled writers struggling to hit deadlines and searched frantically through a cluttered e-mail inbox with letters addressed to my predecessor rather than me.

I have seen a lot in that short amount of time and have made my fair share of mistakes. I’ve made unintentional enemies, had disagreements with my publisher and have helped craft a newsmagazine with an inspired team of which I am unbelievably proud.

When I enrolled in my very first journalism class my sophomore year at the University of Missouri, I sat just a few rows up in the large lecture hall, anxious to hear the wisdom about to bestowed upon me by the tenured professor in the tweed jacket and wire-rimmed glasses (all while trying my best to not be distracted by the tanned, handsome teacher’s aide seated off to the side).

He told us that journalism is the greatest gift that we as students can give to our country. Freedom of the press, a first-Amendment right, helps keep government, private corporations and individuals in check. He told us it was our responsibility, as future journalists, to keep a record of human history, even if our time on the planet is a blink of an eye in the grand scheme of the cosmos.

At the time of that lecture, I had visions of either writing for a large, world-renowned newspaper like the New York Times or Wall Street Journal, or possibly entering into broadcasting and working for a major network, or at least a local affiliate. Creating a web presence wasn’t even on my radar, since the internet was still in its infancy and constrained by the limitations of dial-up modems.

I never dreamed of writing exclusively for an LGBT audience. In fact, my first full time newspaper job was as a sports reporter in a rural Missouri town where I’d spend my Friday nights and Saturday mornings in high school and college press boxes overlooking football fields. It wasn’t until after I had been in Florida for two years or more that I wrote and submitted an editorial to my mainstream newspaper editor about the ridiculousness of Florida’s ban on gay men and lesbians adopting children.

He thanked me for the submission, but said the subject matter was too controversial for our southwest Florida publication. This wasn’t in the dark ages – it was 2002!

Since joining this publication as a freelancer in 2004, I’ve had the opportunity to meet people from all walks of life, interview celebrities from around the world and make friends that I otherwise would have never met.

I owe this publication an awful lot, and not many people can say that about the company for which they work.

Watermark is in its 20th year, and while I’ve been on staff for nearly half of that time, I realize that my four years as editor are just part of the history of this paper.

I’m excited to see what the future holds for Watermark and for our readers. And thank you for giving me the opportunity to hold a position that I love more and more every day, despite the hectic schedules and constant deadlines.

I’d have it no other way.