Working in the journalism industry the past 10 years, I’ve seen my share of bad news.
I’ve been on scene following stabbing and shooting murders, drownings, robberies and more. My email inbox is inundated daily with press releases that are sometimes so gruesome, I scan the dateline to ensure the news did not happen in Federal Way, and I quickly hit the delete button. This is a part of my job that I’ve come to accept over the years.
Of course, sometimes certain breaking, investigative and other hard news stories pump my adrenaline. And most journalists crave this from time to time. But there’s another side of news that I also love, the kind that doesn’t always generate the highest ratings or website page views — good news.
Being the editor of a community newspaper gives me the opportunity to witness, report and reflect on good news too. I get to meet people who do great things for Federal Way and who work tirelessly to improve our community.
Some of these people are unsung heroes, who go about their day-to-day life without realizing the impact they have on us. And some of them are not moving mountains, but their small acts touch our lives so deeply that we will never forget them.
This happened to me recently, while I was reporting on the city’s Inclusion Program. I went to the Federal Way Community Center to take photos of participants in a Fitness FUNdamentals class.
Tina Pomeromtz immediately hugged me and called me her “buddy.” And Amy Novak shared one of her iPod earbuds with me, so I could listen to some country music with her. They embraced me and everyone else in the workout class and “inclusion” never had more meaning for me.
While their kindness was a small deed, I went home that day feeling good and thinking about that day still makes me smile.
These are also the kinds of acts that the Mirror would like to recognize in our monthly citizen of the month features. If you would like to recognize an unsung hero who did something, no matter how big or small, email your nominations to: editor@fedwaymirror.com.
