Inspired to do even better

I got a shot or jolt of inspiration last week in the Twin Cities.
No, I wasn’t at the doctor’s office, but rather the Minnesota Newspaper Convention, a gathering of editors and publishers from newspapers across the state. This is always an inspiring time for me to find out what the industry trends are and what works and doesn’t work at other publications. 
The highlight of the convention for me is the awards banquet. We were honored with five awards for the former News Enterprise of West Concord, a paper that was merged into the Independent last fall. Because of the way the contest period is set up, we did not enter anything for this newspaper. Our sister paper, the Steele County Times in Blooming Prairie, won eight awards. In the past five years, the Times has won 27 state and 13 national awards.
Winning awards and the hard work that goes along with that have been instilled in me since I was 13 years old when I began my journalism career at the Brownton Bulletin. My former boss, Chuck Warner, motivated me to do the best that I can. In 1983, the Bulletin won the highest award given out to any newspaper in the state.
Though long retired and 91 years old, Warner still attends the convention. It’s special for me to see him sitting in the front row watching me accept my awards.
So, judging by our success with the other papers, I hope that gives you a little indication of what we’re striving for with the Independent. Capturing top honors in a contest of your own peers is always quite rewarding. I am especially proud of the accomplishments that our staff achieves.
When I took over the DCI last July, I made a commitment to our readers to provide the best possible community newspaper. I am renewing that commitment again this week. I want this to be one of the best community papers in the state. 
I am a firm believer in constantly pursuing excellence and perfection. While I know we’ll never be totally perfect as nobody is, I think it’s important to have dreams and work hard towards achieving them. One should never become complacent and stop making improvements.
We will be making every effort to provide quality photography, writing, graphic design and advertising in our newspaper. Producing a top-notch newspaper requires the ability to do superbly in all areas. 
Our work is nowhere close to being done. We’re always looking for ways to make this newspaper better. With all the changes that have taken place, and with what’s still ahead, we are certain that the Independent will become a big winner in future contests. 
As we continue to strive for excellence, there is one thing we will always keep in the back of our minds—the readers. We want you to be proud of your local hometown newspaper. 
That jolt of inspiration is really starting to take effect. It’s time for me to buckle down and go in hot pursuit of providing an even better newspaper in the weeks and months to come.