In the newspaper business, we are always ahead of ourselves, working on the next month, the next issue. Sometimes, when that next month arrives, I feel like itís almost over. Regardless, I still cannot believe itís November, which means that December is around the corner, which means itís the 10th anniversary of the very first issue of†The New Falcon Herald!†I started the newspaper in December 2004 with a business partner, Marylou Doehrman; today, my husband and I are the owners of the NFH.† We are extremely fortunate that Marylou continues as the editor.† She’s the perfectionist that sets the NFH apart from the average small town newspaper.†The paper went from a newsletter to a newspaper in one short month, and we grew phenomenally in six months. By the summer of 2005, we were up to 32 pages and had a fairly good subscription base.†Well, Marylou and I have many stories from those first couple of years ñ funny and not-so-funny. One story comes to mind about a mistake we made that cost us a chunk of money.Editing and proofing is an obviously important part of any newspaper. During the NFH editing process, Marylou writes notes to our designer on the copy she sends him. During the proofing process, she and I make sure those notes are deleted. I will never forget the month we forgot to delete a note, and the paper had gone to press. †Marylou had written a note that went something like this:† ìWe had better not make a mistake here because Jane Doe (we did use the real name) would have a hissy fit.î Well, Marylou woke up in the middle of the night the night the paper had gone to the printer with the dreaded realization that she didnít delete that note. Long story short ñ the papers had already been printed and were ready for distribution. We had to chuck them all and start over ñ and we doubled our cost of printing that month.That has never happened again, but we did make a mistake last month that has left us shaking our heads.†Last month, we completely missed something when we proofed the final copy of the paper. I apologize to Trent Harwig for cutting off the last few words in the last sentence of the Face to Face article, written by Angie Morlan. (Angie had sent us every word intact, by the way.) Needless to say, Marylou and I were unnerved at the thought of missing something so blatant. So, Trent and Angie, please accept our apologies and see the correction listed below. Believe me when I say that errors like this in the newspaper are the bane of a publisherís existence.Speaking of Face to Face, this month we are featuring one of our own. Because we are celebrating 10 years, our team decided to highlight someone who, from the very beginning, has whole-heartedly supported the newspaper. When Christel Blaylock worked at The State Bank, she helped us open our NFH business account 10 years ago. Today, Christel is a wonderful friend and an invaluable sales person with the NFH.†As Thanksgiving approaches, I am so grateful for everyone who has contributed to our little community newspaper. More on those people next month. Meanwhile, happy Thanksgiving, and be safe wherever you travel!See you in December.-Michelle
