- April 24, 2024
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The first edition of the Ormond Beach Observer hit driveways on Thursday, Sept. 6, 2012.
On the front page was a story about the city's millage rate, a feature about the Ormond Beach Union Church's preschool and a brief about how Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo were going to be present at the city's Movies on the Halifax event that Friday.
As I read through the stories, I thought to myself, "This is a quintessential example of what the Observer is." It's not surprising to me that our front page these days could have very similar headlines, because our mission to be the community's watchdog is still the same. A watchdog doesn't always mean exposing corruption, as my former editor Brian McMillan reminded me in a recent phone call, when I asked him for help writing this column. Being a community's watchdog also means informing the community of things happening around them, like the approval of new developments, a new business opening in the downtown, a new nonprofit that aims to make significant, local impact. These things may not make headlines outside Ormond, but they are the heartbeat of the community. It's why having a local newspaper matters.
I haven't been a part of the paper since its inception, but I have been here for half its lifetime, and those five years have solidified my belief that a newspaper is a critical component of having a vibrant, informed and thriving community.
In the first edition of the Observer, Brian wrote a column titled, "Why we're here." I think this statement sums up our mission pretty well.
"Our goal is to mention every single person in Ormond Beach once a year on these pages," he wrote. "We haven't done the math to figure out whether that's even possible, but you get the idea. This is your newspaper. It's all about you, your neighbors and your neighborhood."
I'd like to think it's possible. Maybe not in a year, but perhaps over a paper's lifetime.
Since I joined the Observer, I have written over 2,000 stories. And counting. About Ormond Beach. So don't let anyone say nothing ever happens in this town.
The first story I wrote was about the reaccreditation of the Ormond Beach Police Department in 2017. I remember walking into the police station for the first time, how I walked up to the glass separating the waiting room from the record's department and gave them my name. I handed over my ID, and I sat down to wait.
Community news reporting hadn't been in my five-year plan, but seeing as a few weeks earlier — after several unanswered job applications — I was bemoaning my decision to major in journalism as I wallowed in a pit of despair on my parents' couch, I was feeling relieved to just be employed. Those that know me personally, know I tend to be a little dramatic sometimes.
For that first story, I sat across the desk from Chief Jesse Godfrey and then Capt. Lisa Rosenthal. I brought this up to the chief recently in a phone call, and asked him if he remembered that day. Spoiler alert: He didn't, but to his credit, we have spoken, many, many, many times since then.
"That helps us because it shows we're transparent and approachable," said Godfrey during our recent phone call. "I can say this: From my opinion as a police chief, your coverage of the police department has done nothing but foster goodwill and it helps us build and maintain trust in the community."
For me, as the senior editor of the paper, the emphasis of why we do what we do will always be community. There are other newspapers and news organizations that will tell you what's going on in Washington, what's going on throughout the state, but we want to make sure the community knows what's happening in their backyard, good or bad — because it's our community too.
And we at the Observer look forward to continuing that mission for decades to come.
