I've been sleeping a lot lately. I average 10 to 12 hours a night. My body is tired. My brain is tired. I wake up exhausted. My body keeps telling me to slow down and I'm working on that. I've been working on it for almost 2 years now. Weekends are better because I can go slow. I dive into whatever project I have for the day and try to complete it. But it's not about me. It's about us, our TEAM.
Weekdays I give my all to making sure the paper is where it needs to be. I stepped back from some of my responsibilities, handing them to our very talented and knowledgeable staff. I am so very thankful to be part of this Dream TEAM.
I’ve said before, many times, but I’m gonna say it again, “The Mountain-Ear is made up of up to 50 contributors per month. Each staff member is one spoke in a very large wheel. Without one spoke, the wheel does not turn effectively. We welcome community journalists and personify homegrown journalism."
First, I can’t say thank you without including our Publisher, who supports this entire endeavor because he believes in the importance of community news. He stands back and funds this entire company and knows we’ve got this, doing our best to bring this to the readers and the public in general. Our greatest supporter and advocate for The Mountain-Ear, Christian Vanek.
We have an incredible designer that joined us a few months ago. She jumped right in, has figured it all out and is taking on website work as well. She works efficiently in the office with us, plugging away happily at the tasks presented each week. Thank you, Jessica LaFone, for being part of the TEAM.
Another new member is David Sockrider. David joined us in July and in a little over a month put together a beautiful Studio Tour Guide. David is our Special Sections designer and will also be working on the website. David brings wonderful magazine experience to the publications and is already working on our next glossy- Body Mind Spirit. Let us know if you need info on that publication that will be on stands in January for all of 2025. Thank you, David, for being part of the TEAM.
We can’t talk about Body Mind Spirit, without talking about Omayra Acevedo and her new role as content manager for Special Sections. On top of those beautiful Discover Colorado columns she writes, and news of the north region, Omayra is stepping into content management. Thank you, Omayra Acevedo, for being part of the TEAM.
I cannot say in adequate words how thankful I am that our editors have stepped into more work. Sara Sandstrom has taken on more this year than ever before. She gathers more of the content and works directly with the contributors to make sure we have everything we need, on time, each week. Sara works with our interns as well, guiding them on what the newspaper needs and how to write "news." Thank you, Sara, for being part of the TEAM.
Then there is Lynn Hirshman. Lynn and I go way back. We’ve come through amazing things together. Because of this, we are strong. Lynn first edits all government, and second edits all other stories. She lays eyes on every paper before it goes to press and she catches every technical need in the work presented. Lynn also writes occasional columns, business stories and feature news. Oh, and Lynn contributes recipes. Thank you, Lynn, for being part of the TEAM.
Of course I also need to recognize our ad sales team. Bethany Haas has been integral in bringing the paper to the level it’s at with sales over the last year plus. She has built relationships with the clients and knows who is likely to advertise in which publication. And this is super important as we start our online blitz in a week.
Have you heard of this? If you haven’t been invited yet, reach out to Bethany to find out what time slots are available between November 5 and 7. There are limited appointments each day, in different regions, to be the first advertisers included on our new website. Thank you, Bethany, for being part of our TEAM.
We wouldn't be able to function without each person, and this person takes those sales and bills them out. This is a monumental task. Over the last 6 months we have implemented a new billing system and it's been hectic. But we are getting there. It's a large learning curve, but the new system also keeps track of all advertisers, who advertises in what and so much more. Thank you, Terri Vernon, for being part of the TEAM.
That brings us to circulation. We are extra fortunate to have an amazing group of staff that make circulation happen every week. We have Brittney Wagner on staff, taking care of all the subscriptions, measuring, postal reports and prep for labeling, and labels. Brittney is also my Administrative Assistant and is learning multiple other parts of the business. Thank you, Brittney, for being part of the TEAM.
Then we have Tim Dillon picking up the newspapers every week, delivering across Gilpin on the way up from Aurora, and delivering all of Nederland and Coal Creek. Tim has also changed the way we distribute papers and has several customers out there who buy the papers from us and give them to their customers. Ask us how to make that happen, if you’re interested in supporting The Mountain-Ear in this way.
Tim also brings his sales knowledge to the team and is helping us with ideas for future marketing campaigns. And.. he labels every week and he delivers guides across the entire region (we just opened a whole new market area for all of our guides and I couldn’t be more excited). Thank you, Tim, for being part of our TEAM.
And we can’t forget our other circulation team members. I’m so grateful to have Yuliya Savich join us on Thursday every week. She jumped right into labeling when the kids left for college in July. She comes in for an hour and then delivers the north route every week. Yuliya has been integral to getting you your papers from Ward to Allenspark and down to Gold Hill. Thank you, Yuliya, for being part of the TEAM.
As well, we have a social media team. Multimedia is Jamie Lammers (podcast, instagram, Facebook, newspaper). And Hayden Hardt-Zeman and Polina Savich post our weekly Facebook stories. Brittney Wagner is also helping with Facebook and Instagram.
I’d like to also recognize our Senior Journalists. Our Senior Journalists contribute 4 to 5 stories each, most weeks. They cover local government, investigative stories, local business, breaking news, features, some school news and even write occasional columns and opinion pieces. Thank you, Christopher Kelley and Mindy Leary, for being part of the TEAM.
I can’t wrap this up without recognizing our other journalists. Our regular journalists (at least 2 stories per month), include Dave Gibson, Wes Isenhart, Jamie Lammers, and John Scarffe. Thank you all for being part of the TEAM.
And our occasional journalists contribute when something comes up they want to cover. This includes Curt Halsted, Patrice LeBlanc, John MacKay, Anne Scarffe, and Bruna Villalon. We also had a few guest stories from Scout Edmondson. Thank you all for being part of the TEAM.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention our columnists. That includes Brian Alers, Karen Anderson, Doug Armitage, Denise Boehler, Richard Brandon, Mark Cohen, Lorena DeSanta, James DeWalt, Alexander Joseph, Frank Sanders and Amy Skinner. Thank you all for being part of the TEAM.
Last, but certainly not least, our interns. Right now we have Annika Marschke, Mason Novak, and Jiselle Osteboe. I’m looking forward to seeing what you write next! Thank you all for being part of the TEAM.
When you support The Mountain-Ear, you’re not supporting one person. You’re not supporting one idea. You’re supporting all of these people. And all of these dreams. You’re supporting a publication that has stood the test of time for 47 years (we just started our 48th). You’re supporting the businesses that choose to advertise with us (we have more reach in the entire Peak to Peak than ANY other publication, hands down). You’re supporting the contests we run, the Special Sections we put out, the people in the stories we write.
You’re supporting our quest to provide you with unbiased journalism. As a TEAM. Our TEAM. Your TEAM. Here to cover the news you want, Peak to Peak, since 1977.
Find us at www.themtnear.com. And if you ever have a question, email us at info@themountainear.com, call our office at 303-810-5409, or call me on my personal cell at 303-881-0365.
