By Brendan Ulmer
Ulmer Uninterrupted
Working at The Hutchinson Tribune has been quite eventful.
Since I was hired on as a reporter back in August, we’ve moved into our own office, moved from an online-only service to online and print, and have had a front row seat for some of the dramatic highs and lows that the city has experienced—all the while, having more staff turnover than we certainly hoped for.
However, I, personally, have always had one constant, and that is the man who sits behind me: Adam Stewart.
When I was hired to work here at the Tribune, they took a big risk on me. I was months removed from being a college student. I hadn’t worked for a newspaper in three years, and even then, I’m using the term “worked” very loosely. I wrote for my high school newspaper for two years and the Hutchinson Collegian for one, mostly writing satirical opinion pieces that probably weren’t half as amusing as I thought they were.
With a resume like that, I must have made a really good impression during my interview.
Stewart was already on the staff at that time and, unlike me, brought about a decade of newspaper experience to the Tribune.
Shortly after I was brought on, Michael Glenn moved up to Lawrence for college, and suddenly, Stewart and I were the only reporters on staff.
I, an inexperienced 22-year-old who lived in Hutchinson for a month, with little to no knowledge of municipal government, and he, a soft-spoken veteran of the industry who has been very involved in the community since moving here over a decade ago.
Needless to say, I was very lucky to have him.
Even before we had an office, he would invite me to his home for things I needed information or guidance on.
He taught me how to put together a police blotter, how to make sure your list of story ideas is always full, and how to take better pictures (this is still a work in progress, by the way).
When the Tribune offices opened, our mentor-mentee relationship began to turn into a friendship.
Even though he is over a decade older than I, we have found that we have a similar cultural reference pool and sense of humor.
Along with being a fun guy to joke around with, he also provides a calm and steady hand in the newsroom. Being young and inexperienced, I will occasionally get over my skis or bite off more than I can chew. Stewart is quite the grounding presence for me, and while he rarely offers unsolicited advice, it’s almost always immediately useful.
I think he is honestly somewhat of an unsung hero in this community. I have a front row seat every day for the amount of care he has for Hutchinson and its people. The community work he did at Hutch Rec is still near and dear to his heart, and he makes a priority of highlighting events that strengthen Hutchinson’s bonds and little acts of joy around town.
Whether it’s Third Thursday or a local man who makes toy cars to donate to children, these are the stories Stewart loves to tell.
Today, the office is just me and him and likely will be until Glenn comes back from Lawrence.
Filling a 24-page paper with two people is no easy task, but there’s no one else I’d rather be doing this alongside.
He’s going to hate that I spotlighted him here; he’s very humble by nature. I’ve just been feeling very grateful for him, and wanted the readers to know about the high-quality guy we have in the office here.
Brendan Ulmer can be reached at brendan@hutchtribune.com.