GCP staff celebrates over 170 combined years
by Katrina Smith
Do you remember your first job and the nerves you had before the interview and your excitement when you got the job? Last Wednesday, Gibson County Publishing celebrated a few employees who have reached a milestone of dedication and committed excellence with the company for a combined total of 171.50 years. How about a round of applause? The owners of GCP, Victor Parkins and Scarlet Elliott, treated each associate from their newspapers to lunch at a local café while celebrating the honored associates.
Danny Wade, editor of The Humboldt Chronicle, has been working for the newspaper for 48 years. His journey started when he was a teenager and he would come to work after school. What was once a fascination turned out to be a promising career.
“It was fascinating to learn the technical side of creating the newspaper,” said Wade. “I started in the pressroom and worked into learning the IT aspect of the newspaper when we went to computer system. Eventually, I moved into the newsroom as the associate editor and this is where I felt most at home.”
“I love getting out, meeting new people and covering news stories,” he said. “I learned from two of the best, Martha Dodson and April Jackson. I remember Martha always wanted to spotlight good news articles because that is what people liked. I also love focusing on good news stories as well but I also have to report bad news.”
Melissa Price, office manager, has been working with the company for 30 years at the Milan Mirror-Exchange. When she started, Price worked as a receptionist, and assisted customers and answered the phones. Now, she is an office manager who still contributes to taking care of the needs of the customer but just on a different level. “I love my job,” said Price. “My work environment is a family oriented atmosphere.”
Gary Smith, sports editor for the Trenton Gazette, has been employed with the company for 43 years and Nancy Black, office assistant for Trenton Gazette and the Tri-City Reporter has been with the company for 50.5 years. Over lunch, they both raved about having that family oriented working atmosphere and how you just keep working in this business.
“Having employees with tenures of this length speaks volumes about their loyalty and commitment to our operation,” said Victor Parkins, owner of GC Publishing. “That kind of dedication is priceless and in today’s world, almost unheard of. We could not provide the service to our readers without Danny, Melissa, Gary or Nancy. They are the epitome of the kind of employee we strive for at Gibson County Publishing.”
