| When I read The Reminder as a young person the last thing I ever thought of was actually writing for the publication. The paper seemed full of hokey information about a town I had no interest in actually living in. As I grew up I found out more about the area and how rich the history is. I learned that the Pioneer Valley is a great place to live, with all its beauty and culture few places in the world can compare. I also looked to The Reminder for the news that other larger Springfield based papers that either overlooked or just neglected. For my final semester at Holyoke Community College I joined the Cooperative Education Program where I was asked what I would like to do for a career. Without much thought I declared that being a writer in some form would be my choice. After a few different options came up, my advisor recommended The Reminder. When I came into be interviewed for an internship I had thoughts of covering craft fairs and stories of lost poodles. My first idea was to try and spin the paper into a hip and interesting paper that would be more entertaining to the public. However, I found out this paper truly needs no work. The Reminder comes out weekly to a community that craves information about the area they live in. Whether it is a story about one of the many housing developments moving into your backyard or the always-exciting events of a School Committee meeting, we are the source for information for events that most people don't have the time to go to but should be aware of. There is the lack of involvement by so many members of the community to take part in the democratic system which governs our land and hopefully my voice can change this. I really have no way to measure who reads the stories I have written, there has been some feedback from certain members of the community, but generally I just assume that there is enough sense to put down The Republican and pick up The Reminder. There are a few folks that have made this new journalistic experience easier to handle; Mike Dobbs the managing editor and the rest of the editorial staff for their confidence in me, the Wilbraham Board of Selectmen who always made sure I was at the meetings, Barbara Foster my co-op advisor for pointing me in the right direction, all the teachers at Minnechaug High School who pushed and pulled me through those hectic times, and last but not least the readers of this fine publication who I hope have been inspired to get more involved in their town. Levon Kinney Wilbraham |
