New APSE president Paul Barrett gave his induction speech during the Awards Dinner of the annual APSE Summer Conference on Saturday night, June 28, in Minneapolis. Here’s his speech, in its entirety.
When Jorge Rojas asked two years ago if I’d be interested in running for second vice president, I said I’d think about it and get back to him.
My first thoughts were something like: Me? APSE president? Is that a good idea?
But then I remembered two occasions in my career when I said no and later questioned it.
The first time happened shortly after college, when I received my first full-time job offer from the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin. I had been offered a Sports Reporter’s position but wanted to remain in the Seattle area. I turned down the offer in Eastern Washington and hoped my part-time reporting job at the Everett Herald would eventually become full-time.
That didn’t work out, and I realized I had made a mistake. I wrote a letter to Walla Walla’s executive editor – yes, this was before there was email – and said I regretted my decision to turn down the job offer. I also said if they could give me a second chance one day that I would be thrilled to work there. Fortunately for me, someone resigned shortly after that, and they were kind enough to consider me again. They offered me the job, I accepted, and it turned out to be a valuable and positive step in my career.
The second time occurred several years later when I was working at the Miami Herald and received a job offer from The Seattle Times. I grew up reading The Times sports section, was a Times carrier at age 13 and always wanted to work there. But I was in a good situation in Miami and decided to stay. I turned down the Seattle offer, and I later learned that they were not pleased. I’ve never regretted the decision to stay in Miami, but back then I thought I had blown my chance to ever work at The Times.
Fortunately I was wrong, and in 2014 The Times hired me as an Assistant Sports Editor.
In both instances, I turned down a good opportunity because I was comfortable with my status quo. Which brings me back to Jorge’s question. While thinking about it, I remembered those moments and realized I’d regret it if I passed up a chance at this rare opportunity to give back to an organization that’s given a lot to me. So after a nudge from Gary Potosky, I threw my hat in the ring for second VP, and I was fortunate enough to get elected.
But my fortune was just beginning. My time as an APSE officer has been an amazing, inspiring experience.
Since becoming second VP and especially in the past year, I’ve repeatedly been struck by how so many are eager to give so much to the organization.
Most of us generally are aware of the huge amount of work the leadership group contributes each year, and the people who have served in those roles deserve our appreciation. But there also are regional chairs, committee members, the foundation board, contest judges and more. All these people are crucial to APSE’s success and standing in our industry.
That selfless commitment from so many people motivates me to give more, and to make sure I do all I can to support this great organization and further its objectives.
And that is my pledge to APSE’s membership as I move into this role. Over the next year I will do everything I can to best serve you all.
When I ran for second VP I mentioned that I’ve worked at daily newspapers of all sizes in various areas of the country as a reporter, editor, page designer and manager. Because of those experiences, I can appreciate the challenges faced by organizations of different sizes, and I will work to ensure we are serving the needs of APSE’s whole membership and lead this group to embrace the future.
Many of our priorities in recent years remain the same – growth, access, mentorship, staying connected and being inclusive.
How will we continue to address and improve those initiatives? I will have some thoughts, and based on my experiences I know many of you will, too.
Before I finish up, I would be remiss if I didn’t say how grateful I am for the support I’ve received from Dan. One of my big takeaways from running the APSE Contest was realizing how little I knew about the APSE Contest. It is a monster in scale (sorry, Perryn), but it also is amazingly efficient and smartly organized. Dan was there for me every step of the way, and I know I would have stumbled far more than I did without his guidance. So thank you, Dan.
Over the next year, I hope I can provide that same support to Perryn, Erik, Tony and the many others who make APSE so incredible.
Being APSE president is a huge honor, and a responsibility that I take seriously. So thank you all for this privilege.
