It’s been a wonderful, exhausting and occasionally maddening year away from this desk. It has also been, without a doubt, one that has zipped by so quickly I’m not sure if I’ve managed to catch my breath.
But here I am, back in the hot seat as editor of the Undercurrent. I’m glad to be here not only because working in an office is infinitely easier than taking care of small children, but because this island provides end endless stream of fascinating stories and characters. Sometimes we even have exciting council meetings!
I am so grateful to the three wonderful editors who have kept my seat warm over the past twelve months. Thank you Martha Perkins, Louise Loik and Maria Spitale-Leisk for your hard work. Each of you has brought your own energy and style to the paper and offered up points of improvement for me as I settle into the job again. And a big thank you also to my co-worker Maureen Sawasy and our publisher Peter Kvarnstrom for keeping the ship afloat.
Admittedly I’ve spent a good chunk of time surfing Facebook over the past year, and with that I can’t deny the importance and relevance of this medium that is ultimately so threatening to my own job. That said, I stand by the equivalent importance of the newspapers as a medium, and not just for those times when your phone runs out of juice. Where else can you get a clear and concise breakdown on last week’s council decisions and how they might affect you? Or an in-depth profile of your neighbour, who may have lived beside for years but never realized is quite so fascinating? As a former history major, I also deeply appreciate the community paper as a tool for record keeping.
I’ve got energy, enthusiasm and a backpack full of ideas about how to make this little community paper relevant and worth the newsprint, I am also open to yours. So send me an email or pop by the office - just not on deadline day. (Wednesday, by the way!)
Meribeth Deen
editor@bowenislandundercurrent.com
