What is a TEAM? This is a question I think about constantly. For over 8 months we have been building our “DREAM TEAM” at the newspaper. That’s been a goal of mine for a very long time. But there is no “MINE” anymore, because we are all in this together. There is an “OURS” that includes every person that works here. Every day I think about how far we have come, as a TEAM.
When I sold the paper in January, it was the first thing we wanted to do, to build this dream. How it rolled out was a bit different than my huge aspirations to magically put everyone in place, overnight.
We immediately hired both of our copy editors, two full-time journalists, our graphic designer/podcast co-producer and our podcast producer. We hired our circulation manager/bookkeeper. We raised our pay rates for everyone who was hourly and set aside funding to continue growing our intern program.
Since then we have hired another dozen staff. And we continue to expand our contract staff (paid per piece). We have hired more interns. A month ago we took one of our contractors and hired them full-time. We built. Slowly. Our TEAM.
It’s an odd feeling to work for a man who believes in paying a living wage. A company that offers benefits and treats their staff incredibly well. None of this would be possible without our benefactor, Christian Vanek, who literally bought the newspaper for the same reason I bought it all those years ago. He wanted to save the local newspaper and continue it into perpetuity, locally owned and operated. Thus, Mountain Vale Media was formed and the rest is history (well local history anyways).
You may remember me sharing a bit about Christian before. You’ll remember he bought Snyder’s Garage, which is now heavily into the deconstruction phase. When that’s done, there will be a ground test many feet down to make sure all of the contaminants have been removed. The design for Snyder’s Garage is actually quite amazing. And I think you’ll love what is built there.
And, of course, the latest news. Christian bought the bank. The bank sat there for months, nobody in and out. No bites. No idea what it would become. Now, it’s in the hands of someone who will do something with it. Someone who has a hope for success for this community. The other day I said online that it was amazing to work for someone who has a positive vision for Nederland. And I reiterate, it’s AMAZING to work for someone who has a positive vision for Nederland. For the whole Peak to Peak community. Someone who believes you can build a business community that provides sales tax, that supports a town, that could sustain the town far into the future. That’s a pretty powerful dream. Can’t wait to see what the bank will be next, in its new life. Can’t wait to see what businesses will be in there.
More than anything, I am proud to be part of this TEAM. This dream. This hope. This community.
As always, The Mountain-Ear is YOUR community source for news. We welcome your thoughtful letters, stories, phone calls, and emails. We cover the news YOU want to read, in the communities you love. Peak to Peak.
Reach us at info@themountainear.com or by phone at 303-810-5409.
