This winter snowstorm left most of West Tennessee stalled in neutral gear. I know I’ve seen more snow in my 56 years in Gibson County, but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen road conditions quite as bad as they were at the beginning of the week. Many side streets are still covered with sheets of ice as you read this column.
With my 4x4 pickup, I braved my way to the office last Sunday to work on the Jan. 27 edition of the Mirror-Exchange. I worried about how my staff would get to work on Monday to meet our 1 p.m. deadline for printing our newspaper. Our little media company owns 10 newspapers now, so I had the same concern for all of them.
I was equally concerned about our press crew in Union City because if they can’t make it to work, we can’t print any of our papers. I was gravely worried about getting our newspapers delivered from Union City to the 10 different markets we serve. I cautioned our drivers and gave them the authority to turn back if they felt they were in danger on the slick roads.
I’m proud to say that most of our employees found a way to work Monday morning. We had employees being dropped off by friends and family with 4x4s that could handle the snow. We had employees picking up other employees and getting them to work. All but one of our newspapers met their deadline, and the other one was just a few hours late.
In Union City, our press crew had 100% attendance and got everything printed, labeled, bagged and tagged on time. Our drivers had to travel at a snail’s pace but made it to every single destination safely.
Publishing a newspaper 52 times a year is a tough job. It takes a lot of effort and teamwork and almost always includes sacrificing our personal time and, in this case, our safety.
I am so proud of our news team for demonstrating how much their work means to them. I hope our community realizes the importance of a local newspaper and shares my pride for the work our team does for you.
Have a great week!
VP
Victor Parkins is the Editor and Publisher of The Mirror-Exchange, Inc., parent company to the Trenton Gazette, Humboldt Chronicle, Tri-City Reporter-Dyer, Union City Messenger, Weakley County Press, Lexington Progress, Chester County Independent, Brownsville States Graphic and the Fayette Falcon. He can be reached at victor@milanmirrorexchange.com
