Work, family and life

By JEFF JOBE
jobe@jobeinc.com

Sam Terry has given so much to our community in so many ways, ways in which most of us can’t even imagine.

For me as a community publisher I have had the pleasure to work for and beside some very fine newspaper professionals. Most of which I have referenced in some manner in this very space over the past 20 years.

But, one person I have written very little about is my friend, and now former Managing Editor, Sam Terry.

As I sit down to write this column, although happy for Sam, I am of course saddened by his decision to leave our company. Yet for those of you who know the relationship Sam and I have I’m comfortable you realize my thoughts are consumed not with losing him at the company but with losing his companionship in my life.

For the small business owners who have the burden of payroll, sales and just getting the work done, you know what this means.

Our personal lives and business lives are intertwined, we enjoy the good times and even as hard as one may try we still feel the burdens of the bad times.

I could go on and on about the many ways Sam has helped me and this newspaper, but if you are a reader you already know this, and even a fella who buys ink by the barrel couldn’t begin to print them all.

What I want to share now with my friend in this public manner is how I appreciate his personal support, encouragement, and sincere friendship.

There are a few key people inside Jobe Publishing who understand how important family is to me, and Sam is one of those people.

It is because of them that I could break away from work to pick up my children from school every Wednesday and spend the evening uninterrupted. Without them there is no way I could have made every Friday night football game, cheer competitions, track, tennis, and swim meets, sometimes several hour drives from home.

When you work this close to someone they become more than a fellow employee, they become family. Sam is family. Within seconds of me getting the 1:00 a.m. text from my son saying he passed his para-rescue indoctrination, my oldest daughter accepting her offer to attend Transylvania University (Sam’s Alma matter) and my youngest daughter being named a Brown Fellow at the University of Louisville; Sam knew and shared our excitement.

This change is no surprise to me and perhaps the best kept secret I have ever had, probably because I didn’t want it to really happen. Yet, with each discussion over the past several months we made changes allowing this day to happen with as little impact on the communities we serve as possible.

There was a time I managed all aspects of Jobe Publishing alone followed by years of Sam and I splitting the responsibility. He managed the news side while I focused my attention on company growth and expansion. This served us well and because of this partnership we have filled our walls with professional accolades and added two more community newspapers to our company.

In the past several months we have transitioned our strategy to a full local market focus in which we now have highly trained, involved and caring local people doing what Sam and I once did from afar.

I’m not sure what the future holds for Sam nor myself personally, but without a doubt history has already shown that The Barren County Progress, The Butler County Banner-Republican, The Hart County News-Herald, The Edmonton Herald-News, The Monroe County Citizen, The Edmonson News, The Russell County Times-Journal and all of Jobe Publishing, Inc. is stronger today than it was before Sam Terry, IV and Jeff Jobe began sharing our lives.

Jeff Jobe is founder and CEO of Jobe Publishing, Inc. His commentary reflects his personal views and does not reflect the views of personal or professional associations and affiliations. Reach him at jobe@jobeinc.com. Read his previously published commentary at www.jobeforkentucky.com