By Brendan Ulmer
Ulmer Uninterrupted
This will be my last column as a full-time employee of The Hutchinson Tribune, and I’ve thought a lot about what I wanted it to be.
The question I ended up asking myself was “what part about working for the Tribune will you remember most fondly?” The answer, honestly, is easy. The best part about working for the Tribune is the people I got to meet.
Honestly, there are too many to mention. From nonprofit executives to zookeepers to the employees at the McDonald’s right by our office, Hutchinson is chock full of gems—too many to mention in an article with an 800-word limit, so I will highlight a specific few.
First of all, there are the people who I’ve worked with here at the paper.
When I was still mulling the idea of joining the staff last summer, I was invited to a Tribune meet and greet at Salt City Brewing.
I had lived in Hutchinson for only a month and had yet to find my place. After meeting with the Tribune folks at Salt City, my attitude went from “Should I join this paper?” to “How soon can I join this paper?”
Everyone at the event—Michael Glenn, owners Joey and Lindsey Young, and our publisher at the time, Jackson Swearer, and others—were bright, fun and motivated. Not only did I realize that I found my next career opportunity, but I found my crowd.
The Swearers in particular really took me and my fiancee under their wing, and working in the same office as Jackson for my first few months on the job was a very effective way to get to know the community.
Jackson is a razor-sharp intellect, and he knows this about himself, but not only was he never condescending to me, he created a work environment where I knew that my effort and ideas were valued.
As a kid fresh out of college, yet to plant his two feet firmly in the ground, this work environment was incredibly valuable when it came to developing my reporting skills and self-confidence.
He was a fantastic mentor to me.
The second person whose kindness I would like to highlight is Carissa Paxton.
Paxton is the housing director for New Beginnings, but for most of my time in this job, I knew her as the housing coordinator for the City of Hutchinson.
When I was assigned to cover my first housing commission meeting, it was honestly a bit of a nightmare. I am Gen Z, I know very little about homeownership, and I know even less about housing development. The whole meeting might as well have been in a foreign language.
The next day, I went over my two-hour recording of the meeting a couple of times, working to even put a name to the information I didn’t know and identify what the main subject of that meeting was.
Eventually, I decoded it enough to figure out they were talking about low-income housing tax credits, or LIHTC.
When I called Paxton to figure out exactly what those are and how they are obtained, she was so helpful, patient and sincere. In another life, she could have been a teacher, because I approached her with a fresh, empty head, and she never once acted as though I was wasting her time.
It was people like Paxton who made my civic education on Hutch government completely painless.
Last, but emphatically not least, is Donna Davis.
Davis has worn many hats in this community, but the one I got to know her best in was as the capital campaign director for the Food Bank of Reno County.
What Davis accomplished in her role as capital campaign director was stunning. The food bank was aiming to raise $1 million to fund the development and relocation into a larger, more accommodating facility. Davis helped the food bank exceed its million-dollar goal in just five months.
Davis is an energetic catalyst for connection. I have never felt more a part of this community than when I’m talking to Donna.
Her passion, joy and friendliness are contagious.
Selecting her for the campaign director role was a genius move from the board. A board which, because of Davis, I am now a part of.
Covering what she and the food bank were up to was my favorite beat during my time here at the Tribune.
If you are wondering, “Hey, he didn’t mention me, I wonder if I was considered?” the answer is almost certainly yes.
Reno County’s best asset is its people, and there are dozens upon dozens of them I could’ve mentioned in this column, if I had the space.