Profiles for 2009 Winners
Duane R. Lund Award for Lifetime Achievement
Dick Donat
It is fitting that Dick Donat should receive the Duane R.
Lund Lifetime Achievement Award. On the day that Dr. Lund was chosen to be the Staples’
Superintendent of Schools he got up from that meeting, walked down the hall and hired Dick Donat. Since that moment, the two of them have worked to make our part of the world a better place to live, work, play and raise our families.
Dick was born and raised on a farm near Upsala. He was All-Conference
in football, captain of the basketball team, the lead in the class play and
heavily involved in Boy Scouts, where he began a lifelong friendship with Jim
Carlson. As a Pack Leader he participated in the Boy Scout National Jamboree in California and New Mexico where he met Loren Morey, Ed and F.W. Perry.
Dick attended St. Cloud State for two years before transferring to the University of Minnesota to major in agriculture. He taught three years at
Motley before accepting a position at Staples.
His entrepreneurial mind-set was in evidence immediately as he helped establish a feeder pig market behind Bjerga’s Feed Store and started writing a column for the newspaper titled Vo Ag Notes. He was the Staples Teacher of the Year and one of ten state finalists, was the first teacher to be the President of the Chamber of Commerce, hosted a weekly radio program and began the transition from the classroom to Assistant to the Superintendent.
He led a FFA tour of students to Europe, including countries behind the
Iron Curtain, where both he and his students were irrevocably changed by the guards with machine guns getting on their buses. Upon his return, he won the Foundation of Freedom Award for his lectures on those experiences.
Dick was on the Lakewood Foundation Board and was involved with doctor recruitment. Not only did he work on the Small Business Association loan application for the clinic building and assist with finding housing, he
actually started a housing development - in time, three housing developments.
Dick’s legacy to our community is immeasurable. At Dick’s school
retirement gathering in 1991, Doug Anderson listed 68 separate businesses that Dick had worked to attract to Staples over the previous 15 years that Doug had worked with him on the Staples Development Corporation. Doug said he felt that this was just the tip of the iceberg and that, “some panned out and others didn’t, but each received from Dick serious consideration, phone calls, travel, meetings, financial packages, grant applications, and on and
on.”
He was chair of Staples Boy Scout Committee, Arts Council, Rotary, Jaycees, Rural Minnesota CEP, Region Five Economic Development Board, Rotary Art Show, interim director of Central Lakes Ag Center, on the board of Unity Bank, Central Minnesota Initiative Loan Committee and president of the Staples Development Corporation for 20 years.
When asked what gave the incentive to pursue community service, Dick
responded, “It was a rush to accomplish tasks and to see how they changed the community and lives of the people in it.” Some of the people who influenced him were his parents, Duane Lund, Rob Rego, Ernie Weber and Shorty Blessing.
“The networking is important. You have to develop a level of trust with people and agencies that you will do things right,” Dick said. His family has been supportive of his community involvement. When they were on family trips they all became active participants in being on the look-out for new ideas that might make sense to bring back to their community.
Dick Donat is an example of what makes our community tick and is a
model for the rest of us to emulate.
Dick was nominated by Lee Jenkins and Kevin Jenkins.
It is fitting that Dick Donat should receive the Duane R.
Lund Lifetime Achievement Award. On the day that Dr. Lund was chosen to be the Staples’
Superintendent of Schools he got up from that meeting, walked down the hall and hired Dick Donat. Since that moment, the two of them have worked to make our part of the world a better place to live, work, play and raise our families.
Dick was born and raised on a farm near Upsala. He was All-Conference
in football, captain of the basketball team, the lead in the class play and
heavily involved in Boy Scouts, where he began a lifelong friendship with Jim
Carlson. As a Pack Leader he participated in the Boy Scout National Jamboree in California and New Mexico where he met Loren Morey, Ed and F.W. Perry.
Dick attended St. Cloud State for two years before transferring to the University of Minnesota to major in agriculture. He taught three years at
Motley before accepting a position at Staples.
His entrepreneurial mind-set was in evidence immediately as he helped establish a feeder pig market behind Bjerga’s Feed Store and started writing a column for the newspaper titled Vo Ag Notes. He was the Staples Teacher of the Year and one of ten state finalists, was the first teacher to be the President of the Chamber of Commerce, hosted a weekly radio program and began the transition from the classroom to Assistant to the Superintendent.
He led a FFA tour of students to Europe, including countries behind the
Iron Curtain, where both he and his students were irrevocably changed by the guards with machine guns getting on their buses. Upon his return, he won the Foundation of Freedom Award for his lectures on those experiences.
Dick was on the Lakewood Foundation Board and was involved with doctor recruitment. Not only did he work on the Small Business Association loan application for the clinic building and assist with finding housing, he
actually started a housing development - in time, three housing developments.
Dick’s legacy to our community is immeasurable. At Dick’s school
retirement gathering in 1991, Doug Anderson listed 68 separate businesses that Dick had worked to attract to Staples over the previous 15 years that Doug had worked with him on the Staples Development Corporation. Doug said he felt that this was just the tip of the iceberg and that, “some panned out and others didn’t, but each received from Dick serious consideration, phone calls, travel, meetings, financial packages, grant applications, and on and
on.”
He was chair of Staples Boy Scout Committee, Arts Council, Rotary, Jaycees, Rural Minnesota CEP, Region Five Economic Development Board, Rotary Art Show, interim director of Central Lakes Ag Center, on the board of Unity Bank, Central Minnesota Initiative Loan Committee and president of the Staples Development Corporation for 20 years.
When asked what gave the incentive to pursue community service, Dick
responded, “It was a rush to accomplish tasks and to see how they changed the community and lives of the people in it.” Some of the people who influenced him were his parents, Duane Lund, Rob Rego, Ernie Weber and Shorty Blessing.
“The networking is important. You have to develop a level of trust with people and agencies that you will do things right,” Dick said. His family has been supportive of his community involvement. When they were on family trips they all became active participants in being on the look-out for new ideas that might make sense to bring back to their community.
Dick Donat is an example of what makes our community tick and is a
model for the rest of us to emulate.
Dick was nominated by Lee Jenkins and Kevin Jenkins.
Citizen of the Year
Amy Hunter
“If you want something interesting to happen, you have to be part of it,” says Amy Hunter. “You can’t just sit back. You have to make it happen.”
That spirit is why Amy was chosen as the 2009 Citizen of the Year. Her involvement with the Staples Motley Area Arts Council and the Staples Historical Society were specifically listed in her nomination.
Arts have always been an important part of Amy’s life from her childhood music lessons through many opportunities she has created, such as helping found Lamplighter Community Theatre in Staples and her current volunteer work writing grants and coordinating performances for the arts council.
She learned about the granting process through her two terms on the Five Wings Arts Council.
“Finding a source, knowing there’s an interest and a need - why not ask for it?” Amy says.
She makes it sound easy, but someone needs to make that connection. Her attention to the details of planning and budgeting are integral to her success rate.
Through her work and skills the arts council has been able to bring world class performances with an affordable ticket price to our communities. The group has also put professional musicians into Staples Motley School classrooms, some with a grant from the Staples Community Foundation.
Amy also wrote the grant to the foundation that allowed the arts council to bring a children’s theater group to Staples in June, giving 40 children (and their families) the opportunity to learn theater arts. “This is my community,” Amy says of her involvement with the arts council and the Staples Historical Society. She’s seen projects in other communities that capitalize on their history while also honoring it.
Her personal philosophy is “If you don’t like something, you either need to back off and shut up or jump in and work for something different.”
She was president of the historical society in 2004-05 as it was establishing its non-profit status and is currently president again as the organization is raising funds to refurbish the Staples Depot.
Amy credits her parents for setting the example. Both were very involved in their church and community. She and her siblings grew up knowing “that was just the thing you do.”
“I feel that my greatest gift is that I connect people,” Amy says. “I love networking, connecting people to people or people to resources. I always have an antenna up.”
That philosophy is why, as Judy Jenkins said in her nomination, Amy “truly is making Staples a great place to live.”
“If you want something interesting to happen, you have to be part of it,” says Amy Hunter. “You can’t just sit back. You have to make it happen.”
That spirit is why Amy was chosen as the 2009 Citizen of the Year. Her involvement with the Staples Motley Area Arts Council and the Staples Historical Society were specifically listed in her nomination.
Arts have always been an important part of Amy’s life from her childhood music lessons through many opportunities she has created, such as helping found Lamplighter Community Theatre in Staples and her current volunteer work writing grants and coordinating performances for the arts council.
She learned about the granting process through her two terms on the Five Wings Arts Council.
“Finding a source, knowing there’s an interest and a need - why not ask for it?” Amy says.
She makes it sound easy, but someone needs to make that connection. Her attention to the details of planning and budgeting are integral to her success rate.
Through her work and skills the arts council has been able to bring world class performances with an affordable ticket price to our communities. The group has also put professional musicians into Staples Motley School classrooms, some with a grant from the Staples Community Foundation.
Amy also wrote the grant to the foundation that allowed the arts council to bring a children’s theater group to Staples in June, giving 40 children (and their families) the opportunity to learn theater arts. “This is my community,” Amy says of her involvement with the arts council and the Staples Historical Society. She’s seen projects in other communities that capitalize on their history while also honoring it.
Her personal philosophy is “If you don’t like something, you either need to back off and shut up or jump in and work for something different.”
She was president of the historical society in 2004-05 as it was establishing its non-profit status and is currently president again as the organization is raising funds to refurbish the Staples Depot.
Amy credits her parents for setting the example. Both were very involved in their church and community. She and her siblings grew up knowing “that was just the thing you do.”
“I feel that my greatest gift is that I connect people,” Amy says. “I love networking, connecting people to people or people to resources. I always have an antenna up.”
That philosophy is why, as Judy Jenkins said in her nomination, Amy “truly is making Staples a great place to live.”
Youth of the Year
Jenna Nypan
Jenna Nypan, daughter of Ron and Deana
Nypan, attended school in Plymouth until her family moved to the Lincoln area in 2001.
She is a Senior Girl Scout and an active member of Faith Lutheran Church, where she has participated in the Bridges youth group, has helped with children’s music and has participated in worship services as a reader, musician, usher, and a communion minister.
In school Jenna participated in the symphonic wind ensemble and the acappella choir. She was selected for the Minnesota Music Educator’s all-state choir in 2008. She played the lead in the musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.
She was a participant in the state speech tournament three times. Achievements and awards in arts and academics include: Class of 2009 valedictorian, National Honor Society, Spanish and drama, principal’s award
grades 9-12, Superior ratings at state vocal and instrumental music contests, Degree of Special Distinction in National Forensic League, speech team co-captain and recipient of outstanding speaker on speech team.
Jenna was surprised and honored to be recognized as Outstanding Youth Community member. She said, “I had no idea that I would be nominated. I am honored that people have seen my activities as positive contributions.”
The encouragement of friends and family helped Jenna be in so many activities. She credits her parents, speech coaches (Bob Shaffer, Don Sanda), music teachers (Jeff Iverson, Steve Hoemberg), and youth leaders at her church for influencing her in a positive manner and helping her learn to use and share her gifts.
Jenna would advise other youth to select only activities that they can enter whole-heartedly and to dare choosing activities that are less popular, even if it means being identified as different.
She is currently working for Lakewood Health Systems as an intern and
at the Stomping Grounds coffee shop. She will attend Concordia College,
Moorhead, this fall.
Jenna was nominated by Joyce Anderson, director of youth and family at
Faith Lutheran Church. Anderson said that while there are many outstanding
youth in the community, Jenna is an outstanding example of someone who balances her busy schedule and keeps good priorities. She sees Jenna as a deep and creative thinker who dares to share her thoughts and ideas. While sometimes choosing activities that are not high profile or widely popular, Jenna excelled in each and served as a role model for younger
students.
Jenna was also nominated by Don Sanda.
Jenna Nypan, daughter of Ron and Deana
Nypan, attended school in Plymouth until her family moved to the Lincoln area in 2001.
She is a Senior Girl Scout and an active member of Faith Lutheran Church, where she has participated in the Bridges youth group, has helped with children’s music and has participated in worship services as a reader, musician, usher, and a communion minister.
In school Jenna participated in the symphonic wind ensemble and the acappella choir. She was selected for the Minnesota Music Educator’s all-state choir in 2008. She played the lead in the musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.
She was a participant in the state speech tournament three times. Achievements and awards in arts and academics include: Class of 2009 valedictorian, National Honor Society, Spanish and drama, principal’s award
grades 9-12, Superior ratings at state vocal and instrumental music contests, Degree of Special Distinction in National Forensic League, speech team co-captain and recipient of outstanding speaker on speech team.
Jenna was surprised and honored to be recognized as Outstanding Youth Community member. She said, “I had no idea that I would be nominated. I am honored that people have seen my activities as positive contributions.”
The encouragement of friends and family helped Jenna be in so many activities. She credits her parents, speech coaches (Bob Shaffer, Don Sanda), music teachers (Jeff Iverson, Steve Hoemberg), and youth leaders at her church for influencing her in a positive manner and helping her learn to use and share her gifts.
Jenna would advise other youth to select only activities that they can enter whole-heartedly and to dare choosing activities that are less popular, even if it means being identified as different.
She is currently working for Lakewood Health Systems as an intern and
at the Stomping Grounds coffee shop. She will attend Concordia College,
Moorhead, this fall.
Jenna was nominated by Joyce Anderson, director of youth and family at
Faith Lutheran Church. Anderson said that while there are many outstanding
youth in the community, Jenna is an outstanding example of someone who balances her busy schedule and keeps good priorities. She sees Jenna as a deep and creative thinker who dares to share her thoughts and ideas. While sometimes choosing activities that are not high profile or widely popular, Jenna excelled in each and served as a role model for younger
students.
Jenna was also nominated by Don Sanda.
Chairman's Award
Harriet Dent
“Harriet is continually volunteering to make our community a better place for people of all ages. She is definitely a doer of jobs that need to be done,” read the nomination by Mary Sperley for Harriet Dent.
Harriet was born on July 14, a long time ago, in Arco, Minn. Harriet’s widowed mother moved her three daughters to the Twin Cities area where Harriet graduated from Anoka High School.
Following high school graduation, Harriet attended the Minneapolis Business College where she completed what was to have been a year long course, in seven months. Harriet met her husband, James Wallace (Wally) Dent, in Minneapolis. They were married after an extended three week courtship on September 17, 1939. Harriet has two daughters, Kathy Engholm of Little Falls; and Beverly Grout of Kalispell, Montana. She has four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Harriet, Wally and family moved to Staples in 1951. Wally passed away in 2001.
Harriet worked briefly as secretary for the Adult Agriculture Program located in the present Nordell Building until she was hired as the Independent School District #793 superintendent’s secretary.
When asked to assume that position by Superintendent Atwood, Harriet exclaimed, “Oh my gosh, Mr. Atwood, I can’t do that.” To which he replied, “Oh yes you can.” And she did. She remained in that position for 25 years. Twenty three of those years were as secretary to Dr. Duane Lund. She retired July, 1981.
After Harriet retired she began volunteering. The list is long:
o Staples Area Food Shelf: Board member, volunteer coordinator, worker when volunteers are unable to be there.
o Lakewood Health System Auxiliary: Gift shop volunteer in former hospital building; crochets newborn baby caps; decorated the halls for Christmas; hostess for patients scheduled for specialist visits; registrar at blood mobiles.
o Staples ’93 Lions Club: White cane fund raiser; volunteers on committees when needed; Christmas for Kids fund raiser.
o Faith Lutheran Church: Counts weekly offering; folds weekly newsletter; past chairperson for funeral luncheons.
o General Volunteering: Meals on Wheels; visits with people in care center; brings friends to medical appointments and other destinations; coordinates Red Hatter’s snail mail.
Many of these volunteer activities consume hours of Harriet’s time. When asked why she volunteers, she responded, “While I worked full time, I knew I wanted to give back to this community when I retired.”
“Harriet is continually volunteering to make our community a better place for people of all ages. She is definitely a doer of jobs that need to be done,” read the nomination by Mary Sperley for Harriet Dent.
Harriet was born on July 14, a long time ago, in Arco, Minn. Harriet’s widowed mother moved her three daughters to the Twin Cities area where Harriet graduated from Anoka High School.
Following high school graduation, Harriet attended the Minneapolis Business College where she completed what was to have been a year long course, in seven months. Harriet met her husband, James Wallace (Wally) Dent, in Minneapolis. They were married after an extended three week courtship on September 17, 1939. Harriet has two daughters, Kathy Engholm of Little Falls; and Beverly Grout of Kalispell, Montana. She has four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Harriet, Wally and family moved to Staples in 1951. Wally passed away in 2001.
Harriet worked briefly as secretary for the Adult Agriculture Program located in the present Nordell Building until she was hired as the Independent School District #793 superintendent’s secretary.
When asked to assume that position by Superintendent Atwood, Harriet exclaimed, “Oh my gosh, Mr. Atwood, I can’t do that.” To which he replied, “Oh yes you can.” And she did. She remained in that position for 25 years. Twenty three of those years were as secretary to Dr. Duane Lund. She retired July, 1981.
After Harriet retired she began volunteering. The list is long:
o Staples Area Food Shelf: Board member, volunteer coordinator, worker when volunteers are unable to be there.
o Lakewood Health System Auxiliary: Gift shop volunteer in former hospital building; crochets newborn baby caps; decorated the halls for Christmas; hostess for patients scheduled for specialist visits; registrar at blood mobiles.
o Staples ’93 Lions Club: White cane fund raiser; volunteers on committees when needed; Christmas for Kids fund raiser.
o Faith Lutheran Church: Counts weekly offering; folds weekly newsletter; past chairperson for funeral luncheons.
o General Volunteering: Meals on Wheels; visits with people in care center; brings friends to medical appointments and other destinations; coordinates Red Hatter’s snail mail.
Many of these volunteer activities consume hours of Harriet’s time. When asked why she volunteers, she responded, “While I worked full time, I knew I wanted to give back to this community when I retired.”
Organization of the Year
Still Crusin' Car Club
When you look back at the years when you grew up, the automobile was an important part of your life. Vacations, travelling to family reunions or going on a “Sunday Drive” were ways for the people together.
Your family might have had a Packard, Studebaker, Nash, Chrysler or Lincoln, but you might have a dream of a 1956 Chevy coupe or 1964 Ford Mustang.
This year’s Organization of the Year brings back those memories of the past through their one love - the classic or vintage car. “Still Cruisin’ Car Club,” you are truly living your dream.
The club began as “Staples Area Antique Collectors” in 1996. Tom Lucy and Dave Nordell were the originators. Dave told Tom, “You get it going and I’ll help.” Original members were Tom, Dave, Bruce Hayenga, Verde Pepin, Rueben Nelsen, Reggie Petrich, Huck Holst, Al Case, Bill Walters and Doug Case.
The members put in $20 each and decided to have a car show the fourth weekend in August, 1996. At the two-day event members cars were displayed in the Staples Community Center with a 1950s theme that provided the viewers a flashback to the “Good Old Days.” Vehicles of non-members were displayed on the high school football field. Thirty collector cars were shown. Little did they know what the future had in store for the club.
During those early years, the club would hold a “Car Cruise.” Members would go out for a drive and stop for a burger, malt or root beer float. The Spot Café sponsored one of these cruise nights.
Monthly meetings began and the club changed its name in 2000 to “Still Cruisin’ Car Club.” The one thing the club focused on each year was the annual car show with members providing ideas for improvements.
The show became sanctioned by the Minnesota Street Rod Association. In 2002, the event had 200 entrants with an engine giveaway and participants have increased each year. More people were coming to Staples to see the car show and participate in Railroad Days.
Jessi Combs, Spike TV’s “Extreme 4x4” host, made a memorable journey to the 2007 “Ride the Dream” car show that displayed 400 cars. This year they will give away $10,000 in prizes including two engines. Over 600 cars and 3,500 people were expected.
The club membership is around 50 people ranging in age from 15 to 87. The group contributes to the power mechanics class at Staples Motley High School for the Max Mileage car competition and to Staples Motley Dollars for Scholars.
The club was nominated by Morgen Martin.
When you look back at the years when you grew up, the automobile was an important part of your life. Vacations, travelling to family reunions or going on a “Sunday Drive” were ways for the people together.
Your family might have had a Packard, Studebaker, Nash, Chrysler or Lincoln, but you might have a dream of a 1956 Chevy coupe or 1964 Ford Mustang.
This year’s Organization of the Year brings back those memories of the past through their one love - the classic or vintage car. “Still Cruisin’ Car Club,” you are truly living your dream.
The club began as “Staples Area Antique Collectors” in 1996. Tom Lucy and Dave Nordell were the originators. Dave told Tom, “You get it going and I’ll help.” Original members were Tom, Dave, Bruce Hayenga, Verde Pepin, Rueben Nelsen, Reggie Petrich, Huck Holst, Al Case, Bill Walters and Doug Case.
The members put in $20 each and decided to have a car show the fourth weekend in August, 1996. At the two-day event members cars were displayed in the Staples Community Center with a 1950s theme that provided the viewers a flashback to the “Good Old Days.” Vehicles of non-members were displayed on the high school football field. Thirty collector cars were shown. Little did they know what the future had in store for the club.
During those early years, the club would hold a “Car Cruise.” Members would go out for a drive and stop for a burger, malt or root beer float. The Spot Café sponsored one of these cruise nights.
Monthly meetings began and the club changed its name in 2000 to “Still Cruisin’ Car Club.” The one thing the club focused on each year was the annual car show with members providing ideas for improvements.
The show became sanctioned by the Minnesota Street Rod Association. In 2002, the event had 200 entrants with an engine giveaway and participants have increased each year. More people were coming to Staples to see the car show and participate in Railroad Days.
Jessi Combs, Spike TV’s “Extreme 4x4” host, made a memorable journey to the 2007 “Ride the Dream” car show that displayed 400 cars. This year they will give away $10,000 in prizes including two engines. Over 600 cars and 3,500 people were expected.
The club membership is around 50 people ranging in age from 15 to 87. The group contributes to the power mechanics class at Staples Motley High School for the Max Mileage car competition and to Staples Motley Dollars for Scholars.
The club was nominated by Morgen Martin.
Business of the Year
Staples World
By The Week: A Snapshot in Time
Open the door of the Staples World and you immediately experience 144 years of knowledge ready to help you. Brenda, Tom, Gary, Janice, Kathy, Dawn, Linda and Robert - eight individuals deeply committed to making sure they accurately capture news and events of the week.
This team has experienced numerous changes in getting the newspaper out - sheet feed presses, dark rooms, typesetting machines to computers, digital photos and scanning.
Understanding the needs of the community and their readers is their number one priority. The Staples World has something for everyone. In addition to the paper, they provide commercial printing and promotional items for local businesses. The most recent additions include the Community Event Calendar and the Welcome Neighbor Campaign.
Their role expands beyond the day to day business of reporting, ad sales and sending the paper to press. The newspaper staff has assisted several high school newspaper advisors and students. They have spoken with high school classes about the aspects of their jobs and the newspaper. They employ summer interns. Many of the interns have gone on to college and become staff on college newspapers.
They work with elementary students studying history by using past issues of the Staples World. They explore the history of World War I and II with fifth graders sharing through stories of people they know. Elementary students look at the fragile pages from newspapers of days gone by and dare to touch the pages even though they know they should not.
A typical session ends with looking up the birth announcements for those who were born here. Their names are in the ‘Hello World’ column. Reading their birth announcement makes it real - when their name and weight is read - they laugh. The message of the community newspaper continues on to another generation.
Each week this close knit team of eight works together to meet the deadlines. They describe themselves as a family engaged in an appropriate amount of bantering to complete the business of sending the paper to press. Once it leaves their hands, it is time to come together for conversation, coffee and reflection.
If you enjoy reading the newspaper in print with a cup of coffee or if you prefer to read the news on your computer - the Staples World is at your finger tips. You can find the newspaper in your mailbox, on the counter at local gas stations and grocery stores or online at www.staplesworld.com.
By the time the paper hits the street, this team of eight has already begun the task of capturing another week.
By The Week: A Snapshot in Time
Open the door of the Staples World and you immediately experience 144 years of knowledge ready to help you. Brenda, Tom, Gary, Janice, Kathy, Dawn, Linda and Robert - eight individuals deeply committed to making sure they accurately capture news and events of the week.
This team has experienced numerous changes in getting the newspaper out - sheet feed presses, dark rooms, typesetting machines to computers, digital photos and scanning.
Understanding the needs of the community and their readers is their number one priority. The Staples World has something for everyone. In addition to the paper, they provide commercial printing and promotional items for local businesses. The most recent additions include the Community Event Calendar and the Welcome Neighbor Campaign.
Their role expands beyond the day to day business of reporting, ad sales and sending the paper to press. The newspaper staff has assisted several high school newspaper advisors and students. They have spoken with high school classes about the aspects of their jobs and the newspaper. They employ summer interns. Many of the interns have gone on to college and become staff on college newspapers.
They work with elementary students studying history by using past issues of the Staples World. They explore the history of World War I and II with fifth graders sharing through stories of people they know. Elementary students look at the fragile pages from newspapers of days gone by and dare to touch the pages even though they know they should not.
A typical session ends with looking up the birth announcements for those who were born here. Their names are in the ‘Hello World’ column. Reading their birth announcement makes it real - when their name and weight is read - they laugh. The message of the community newspaper continues on to another generation.
Each week this close knit team of eight works together to meet the deadlines. They describe themselves as a family engaged in an appropriate amount of bantering to complete the business of sending the paper to press. Once it leaves their hands, it is time to come together for conversation, coffee and reflection.
If you enjoy reading the newspaper in print with a cup of coffee or if you prefer to read the news on your computer - the Staples World is at your finger tips. You can find the newspaper in your mailbox, on the counter at local gas stations and grocery stores or online at www.staplesworld.com.
By the time the paper hits the street, this team of eight has already begun the task of capturing another week.