Giving Thanks

By Jeff Jobe
Community Publisher

Family. Friends. Health. Those are just some of the things members of our communities share with with us as what they are most thankful for each year at Thanksgiving. And we at Jobe Publishing absolutely agree. We are also so very thankful for our amazing employee family, our advertisers, and our subscribers who help us make community news possible.

From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank all of you for your support and the opportunity to have served as community publisher for 25 years.

We have accomplished some amazing milestones in the past two decades and, because of those traditions and your support, Jobe Publishing Newspaper Division is among Kentucky’s fastest growing. With the single purchase in 1998 of a small weekly newspaper, we have grown to now own and publish eight of our own county-wide legal publications. We also house a commercial operation to printing and distribute hundreds of thousands of printed items throughout the nation each year. Nobody can come close to what we do for you, and it is because of your support.

You helped us print and distribute 499 veterans, to honor them and their families this past Veterans Day. Also because of you, we will be distributing thousands of Santa letters in a few weeks. We smile when the US Post Office delivers Santa letters to us at the newspaper.

Of course, it is only natural that I get the credit or the blame for the work we do at each of our community newspapers, and I certainly accept it.  But let me be perfectly honest: there is a very good chance that my work was done long before your newspaper or advertisement was delivered to your mailbox. Without a doubt, the fact I am most thankful for at this point in my career is to have a team in place who helps me get some rest and time off for family from time to time.

We have a management team in place who do their jobs and do it well. They don’t step inside any community. They simply provide support in printing, designing, distributing, and billing as needed. All else is done locally. Locally, unless they need me and I am there.

I will stand beside, in front of, or behind truth as needed.

We are so very thankful that we have each of our offices managed by local people who care about promoting the communities in which they live. I’m thankful to have each employee as a friend and dozens of other coaches, parents, pastors, and involved individuals who help us cover our news.

If you have a story you believe would be of interest to the community in which you live then call any of our local offices in Allen, Barren, Butler, Cumberland, Edmonson, Hart, Metcalfe, or Russell County and let them help you share it.

As a young man in this industry, I was fortunate to come in at a unique time, a time of pagination, full color print, computer to plate printing, and online readers. This intimidated the older newsmen of that time, but I embraced it and it has helped us survive. With each new development comes new opportunities, and I am very excited at what the future will bring.

No matter who you are, where you are from, or what you have to offer, if it is good for our community, this local newspaper will help you tell our world.

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.sckentucky.com