Two special publications are en route

By Rebekah Yancey  

It’s been a wild few weeks here at the newspaper – and the fruit of our labor will soon be on stands when the next issue of Hartselle Living and our annual Profile issue are published next month.  

We won’t get much downtime before gearing up for spring sports and our graduation sections. With each year, these special sections and magazines seem to speed up and get here quicker and quicker.   

I try to look for ways to continually improve our publications so they don’t grow stagnant, and sometimes it’s difficult not to fall into a rut when you have been somewhere for a few years. Change for the sake of change is not something I am crazy about, but on the other hand, I also don’t like doing something one way just because that’s the way it’s always been.  

I recently told a coworker my goal is to have our processes run like a well-oiled machine. I like efficiency. In this way I think I have a Type A personality. I appreciate it when team mates work together to accomplish a common goal and keep in mind that everyone is needed to make sure deadlines are met and workflow stays in check. It doesn’t take much to slow things down and disrupt a magazine or special section that has taken weeks of planning.  

When the projects are out of my hands and sent to press, I usually feel a weight lifted off my shoulders – even if it’s only a short time until I start on the next one.  

Then when I’m able to see the magazines in print for the first time – well that really never gets old. I keep waiting for it to be just another day at work, but there’s something about opening a box or bundle of newspapers that you have worked on for weeks or sometimes months. This year’s Profile theme was decided in October 2021, so this project has been ongoing for some time.  

I still find it exciting and rewarding, and I’m so thankful for that.