Dedication of The Guardian, 2002

I was a recent college graduate working part time driving a school bus and substitute teaching when I answered an ad for a writer at “Oklahoma’s largest weekly newspaper.” More than 100 people applied for the job, and I was ecstatic when they selected me.

I remember making copies of my resume and clips of stories I’d written for my college newspaper, The Reveille Echo. They were very mid, as my kids would say, and most of them were opinion pieces. The one straight news story was about a revival on campus. “There is no way I’m getting this job,” I thought.

As I mailed the packet at the Bethany post office, I remember thinking to myself, “My future is in this envelope.”

Months later, my new boss told me they liked the story about the revival. That’s when I learned that, all skills being equal, many hiring decisions come down to team fit.

I won the Journal Record sweatshirt I’m wearing in this 1990 photo at a company party that year, along with a trip to Cancun. All these years later, I’m finally ready to admit I never went on the trip.

This is the third post in my new series about my 35-year career in communications and nonprofit leadership. The work has included journalism, public relations, public affairs, advocacy, and public policy, primarily in Oklahoma. As a member of Generation X, I spent most of those years focused on execution, not documentation. This series is a record of the work. Thank you for your interest and support.