Friday, March 29, 2024

Area photographers show how they believe in community

Over the years you’ve likely heard the phrase, “It takes village to raise a child.” For obvious reasons, it often falls onto the entire community to bring up a child, especially in the world we live in today.

I have a slight variation of the common phrase as it applies to putting out a community newspaper. “It takes a village to put out a community paper.”

Through my education efforts in the newspaper over the past year, I have shared some of the struggles our industry and specifically your local newspaper has faced recently. With limited resources and time, it’s impossible for us to be everywhere at once, though we certainly would like to be.  

We have faced some challenges with sports coverage this fall. Our full-time sports editor left to go back home to Indiana in May while our veteran sports writer LeMar Nelson continues to face medical challenges limiting his ability to keep doing what he has done so faithfully for the past 28 years. If someone, by the way, is interested in freelancing as a sports writer, please be sure to reach out to me.

One of the things I have stressed on more than one occasion is how we rely on community members to help us publish the community newspaper. My staff is only here to facilitate the newspaper on behalf of the community within certain perimeters, of course. Community members are the eyes and ears of what’s going on, and we love nothing more than to create a partnership with them in putting out a quality product.

That partnership has truly shone through this fall as I am pleased to say three area photographers stepped up to the plate to help us with the fall sports team photos for Owatonna, Medford and NRHEG high schools. Mike Oldenburg of Oldenburg Photography provided photos for Owatonna while Skye Devoe of Skye’s the Limit Photography gave us photos for Medford and Brant Hemingway of Brant Hemingway Photography came through with NRHEG.

I hope you enjoy their photos in this week’s special sports section showcasing the fall teams and their schedules.

To have cooperation like this from three quality photographers is nothing short of amazing and a huge blessing to our newspaper. In addition, our readers are afforded the opportunity to see their kids and grandchildren in the newspaper, which is exactly what a community newspaper is all about. The photographers truly understand that it takes an entire community to put out a newspaper. Their cooperation is unbelievable in showing how we can all work together in supporting our youth and beyond. They are champions in celebrating our youth and their accomplishments.

The photographers have stepped up to show that when times get tough, people and communities pull together to help each other out. In this case, they’ve helped out the local newspaper, which in turn impacts nearly everyone in the community.

I encourage you to reach out to thank them for their generosity in going above and beyond to help your community newspaper. I’d also encourage you to contact them if you ever need some family photos taken or anything else.

I have also received cooperation from some of these photographers with providing us game photos throughout the season. You can’t imagine how excited these athletes, along with their parents and grandparents, will be when they see their photos in the newspaper.

I remember back to my childhood and how I was so thrilled to open up my local newspaper only to find my photo and name in it. It helped build my confidence as a youngster more than anyone will ever know. And for that, I’m so ever grateful to my local newspaper, even though it’s no longer in existence.

We believe in community, and we also believe that communities remain strong and vibrant because of a quality newspaper at their disposal. We hope you will understand that about us in these challenging times.

It’s time to go in hot pursuit of enjoying the fall sports tab thanks to some great area photographers.

 

See full story in this week’s print edition or subscribe online. Please subscribe here or current subscribers can login here.

Dodge County Independent

Dodge County Independent
Dodge County ADvantage
301 S. Mantorville Ave.
Plaza 57 • Suite 200
Kasson, MN 55944

Dodge County Printing
301 S. Mantorville Ave.
Plaza 57 • Suite 200
Kasson, MN 55944

507-634-7503
 
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