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One of the highlights of the year, if you are in the newspaper business, is the annual convention. This year it was held in Madison, Wisconsin which gave our staff more of the opportunity to attend. As in any industry, there are constant changes, especially when it comes to technology. Attending the sessions, there were things that I never have thought of or heard of before, that now I have to think about and so does our staff.
Of course new things cannot be implemented at the wave of a hand, so learning and accepting change will take time. But aside from that, one of the neatest things was the introduction of our Assistant Editor Brooke Bechen as a Future Headliner. This means as a newspaper professional under 30, she will be counted on upon to tell our story for the next year. She follows former Democrat Tribune Editor, Joelle Doye in this capacity, and even though Joelle is no longer in the industry, she is using her talents in a similar fashion for the Mineral Point Schools. Joelle won an award for photography at the convention.
Wednesday night, I attended the Hall of Fame and Salute to our Legislators Banquet. At that time I was honored to present our local Assemblyman, Todd Novak, with an award for his exemplary service to the newspaper industry in his first year in office.
I'm already looking forward to next years convention.