Saturday, January 18, 2025
There are two articles in today’s newspaper detailing the retirement of Kim Ware as publisher of the Tri-County Reporter. I instructed our staff to create the articles because I know people in our communities love Kim and appreciate the capacities in which she has served them. I felt they would want to stop for a moment and reflect on their friend and neighbor. They need to know she is leaving and to have the opportunity to show her the appreciation and acknowledgement she so richly deserves.
This past summer, at the Texas Press Association convention, I had the privilege of nominating Kim for the Frank W. Mayborn Award for Community Leadership. The selection committee had an easy time selecting Kim as the recipient. Please allow me to quote from my nomination letter.
“Few people can match Kim’s boundless energy, enthusiasm, and dedication to improving her community. She is a humble servant who leads by example, who enriches the lives of those around her, and who elevates those which are lucky enough to associate with her.
“I can honestly say in my nearly 50 years of professional life, I value my business relationship with Kim above all others. She is a newspaper professional who does her job with skill and expertise but understands that community service is the ‘rent which is paid’ by citizens for living in a community. I assure you this woman has ‘paid her account forward’ many, many times over. She is revered by her fellow citizens, admired by her peers, and respected for her commitment to help others in need.”
I have had the honor of working with many accomplished and successful people who come from a variety of different professions and life experiences. I can say without reservation, Kim is one of the best people I have ever known. She makes me feel both proud and humble to imagine she might call me her friend.
The future will seem very odd without Kim working beside me trying to build a better newspapers and better communities. It saddens me to think of the days to come when she will not be there to hear my rants, keep me in check, and offer a perspective that is fresh and meaningful. There were few times when we disagreed, and when we did the conflict was always respectful and meaningful. I like to think we made each other better. The truth is she made me better.
I find solace knowing she will have many years in retirement with her husband Mark and her family, traveling, enjoying life and looking back at a life well lived. I know I am a better man for having Kim Ware as my colleague and as my friend. It is a relationship I treasure and will long remember.
Enjoy your time away from the world of newspapering Kim. I hope your memories of an extraordinary career keep a smile on your face and warm your heart. Well done my friend ... well done!
Thought for the day: Just when you think you are at the end of something, you are about to start something else.
Until next time ... I will keep ridin’ the storm out!
