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Legendary sports editor Charlie Tiano hired me in 1970. No doubt I’ll forget someone’s name, so I apologize in advance. It’s not false modesty, however, to admit the obvious: I didn’t do it alone. This newspaper enjoyed extraordinary success during most of the years when I was publisher. Instead, I’ll take on the foolish job of mentioning Freeman people who were particularly memorable, influential and important to me. How could being a journalist in this community be anything but? I’ll save some of those aforementioned stories for another time … or for my book … or maybe I’ll just keep them to myself. It’s been a roller coaster of a ride, as you might imagine. So here I am, having been a sport writer, sports editor, editor, general manager and, for 25 years, publisher of the Freeman, before becoming publisher emeritus a year ago, to round out my career. It also didn’t hurt that this New York City native came to like living “in the country.” After a while, the original goal of becoming a big-time sports columnist didn’t seem so important anymore.

#Kingston freeman professional#

To be sure, when I began my career as the third person in a three-person sports department – learning the ropes and the Kingston area phone book by typing (on a typewriter) bowling scores – I hardly expected to be working at the Freeman for three years, much less 43.īut a variety of personal and professional developments – from marriage to fulfilling a local National Guard hitch to a pair of job promotions in the sports department – altered the road map. And I do expect to maintain this blog as the spirit moves me.) (Actually, “farewell” is not quite accurate, since the title of “publisher emeritus” will always be with me. I’ve given considerable thought to what I might say in this “farewell “ blog. 2, 2013, a Friday, that I will exit the Freeman building for the last time. It was 43 years, 50 pounds and a lifetime of memorable experiences ago. 14, 1970, a Monday, that I walked into the Freeman building for the first time. I hardly expected the first entry to be about the start of another one.įor the time being, you know where to find me. I had intended to resume this blog after a reasonable period of inactivity following the conclusion of my Freeman career. Indeed, it wasn't dull even when I was a rookie typing bowling scores in our former home at 3 Broadway. I've been catching up with the managers and their staffs, learning about initiatives soon-to-be launched and orienting myself about those already on their feet. Yes, they can lean on me, but I'm not worried about them toppling me over. They work hard and they know what they're supposed to do. I can get away with that because we're fortunate (as I was most of the time when I was publisher) to have excellent department heads. The Freeman is too important to me and the community for me to not answer (excuse another baseball analogy) a call to the bullpen. Whatever I can do to hold down the fort, that's what I will do. Or, to put it another way, I've been telling people that just as Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda boasts of bleeding Dodgers blue, I bleed Freeman blue. That said, one doesn't just towel off 43 years of sweat equity in six weeks. (This presumes, of course, there are such things as clarity and stability in today's newspaper environment.)Īm I also rooting for a quick hire so that I can return to 'private' life? Who, me? After all, if you've experienced an employee's sense of uncertainty awaiting the arrival of a new boss, you'll understand why I hope ours don't have to wait long before there's clarity and stability in their professional lives. I'm rooting for the search to end sooner rather than later.

(That's a long story involving the rules at the Parkchester apartment complex where I spent my formative years.)īe that as it may, the company asked me to grab the reins again while it seeks a new publisher.

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I'd say it was like riding a bike, except I never learned how to ride a bike. 17 I was back at my old desk, the one behind which I sat for 25 years. It did, a couple of days later, and on Sept. Not only had Jan been doing a wonderful job leading Kingston and our company's other New York properties, but I knew a phone call was likely to come. Oh, I was saying bye-bye after 43 years at the Freeman, ready for some rest and thinking about new challenges.īut six weeks into my new life, a text message alerted me to the resignation of Jan Dewey, about a year after she had succeeded me as publisher.