Ten Years Gone

The process of leaving a job after nearly 10 years for me was much more mental than physical. Working for the same company for a decade meant having spent 25% of my life driving to and from the same office building in East Setauket. And as my final two weeks ticked away quickly, I did a great deal of thinking about how my life changed over that time.

When I started in January 2001, my son just turned two, and now he’s heading to the fifth grade. Three years later, my daughter was born and she’s now preparing for the first grade. And me; I was barely a 30-something.

I remember a bright, sunny September morning sitting at the left turn light where Belle Meade Road meets Route 347 and hearing Don Imus report on WFAN that a plane had just hit the World Trade Center. Twenty minutes later, I was standing with my co-workers in a conference room watching the horrific events taking place in lower Manhattan. It’s true; I will never forget where I was that day.

But the decade would prove to have many more bright spots. I was fortunate to see some beautiful parts of the country; from Chicago to Las Vegas, South Florida and the Piedmont of North Carolina, the latter would become quite familiar, as I would attend the twice-annual High Point Furniture Market 19 times. I also had one trip overseas to Milan, but didn’t get to experience much of the city.

I developed a taste for red wine, ate at wonderful (and expensive) restaurants, stayed at several top hotels and had the pleasure of meeting some celebrities including Kathy Ireland, Emeril Lagasse, Paula Dean and Guy Fieri.

In 2007, I founded WestIslipTribune.com, a move that ultimately proved to be my first step out the door. I had been one of the big advocates at my former company for a bigger push for editorial products on the Internet. There was opportunity for the company to use the Net to grow its business in other directions, but my arguments fell on deaf ears. Eventually I stopped talking and used my ideas for myself.

While the Tribune did not achieve a great deal of commercial success, I was able to provide West Islip with a source for news and events that they will now get from West Islip Patch, one of 12 Patches I will oversee in my new job with Patch.

But the thing that hit me the most was the time span; 10 years. It had been a decade since I started another job; and it really didn’t feel as if I was at that job that long. However, I realized that over that time I had grown up personally and professionally. I’m more confident in my abilities and feel that the team I will lead at Patch will be successful and continue to grow professionally as well.

So with those 10 years gone, I’m now looking ahead with a great deal of hope and promise at the next 10, when some more monumental changes will take place.

Words Have Meaning So Use Them Cautiously

The former Getty gas station at the corner of Udall and Hunter is now vacant, but is it blight?

Words are very powerful tools, and when used in a cavalier manner can construe an unwanted meaning or paint an inaccurate picture about someone or perhaps a community.

A recent article on WestIslipPatch.com reporting on a meeting of the West Islip Association (WIA) quoted one member of the organization as saying West Islip has blighted areas. The word blight caught my attention. When I think of a community with blight, the South Bronx of the late 1970s comes to mind. Empty, dilapidated buildings, perhaps burned out in a low-income neighborhood is the picture I conjure when mentally defining blight.

The dictionary definition of blight is: (noun), the state or result of being blighted or deteriorated; dilapidation; decay: urban blight. This does not sound like West Islip to me.

Yes, there are a handful of vacant buildings, and town codes make it challenging for some property owners to develop the parcels of land such as the former West Islip Florist, the former True Value store and even the gas station at the corner of Udall Road and Hunter Avenue. Ironically, the WIA opposed a proposal to redevelop the gas station to a 7-Eleven.

But to say West Islip has blight is far from correct.

Local groups, especially those that desire to speak for a community, must understand that it is imperative that they accurately represent the challenges faced by their hometown and not exaggerate its current condition. And it’s also easy to point out what needs to change, but more challenging to work to find solutions.

West Islip is fortunate to have a number of community-based organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce, West Islip Summit Coalition, Beautification Society and the WIA each playing their part to maintain and improve West Islip. But when working to impact change in our hamlet, it’s necessary to take great caution when using verbiage to describe the challenges we face. Otherwise, an inaccurate picture of our community may be painted.

Saying Goodbye…But Not Really

Announcing one’s departure from his/her place of employment is never an easy thing — and something I haven’t done in nearly 10 years — but the experience has proven to be quite the ego boost.

My colleagues, many of whom have been with me for my entire time at ICD Publications, have been wonderful and gracious offering me well-wishes and some expressing shock when hearing the news. But all were happy and a few even asked if they could go with me. The same can be said of many of my close relationships in the furniture and retail world that I have written about since 2001. Friends calling and writing not to ask why I was leaving, but wanting to know where I was headed and how we could stay in touch.

The change in career has also forced me to shut WestIslipTribune.com, an endeavor near and dear to my heart. At the suggestion of someone I now consider a good friend, I started the website in 2007 to cover the news and events of West Islip, NY; my hometown. Ironically, it was The Tribune that led to the opportunity now in front of me with AOL’s Patch.

And my friends and readers of The Tribune have also been very supportive. The day after announcing WestIslipTribune.com would soon be going dark, my e-mail inbox was flooded with congratulatory notes from many I know and many I never met. They thanked me for providing news of the community and wished me well with AOL.

So as I begin my final week in my long tenure at ICD, I do so feeling the love from so many. I thank everyone for their good wishes, and looking forward to the challenge of maintaining and perhaps even enhancing the relationships I have with so many wonderful people.

Jobbing The Social Networks

Dear doubters of social networking; I’ve got a story for you. I’m not sure of the level of uniqueness of my tale, but suffice it to say Facebook played an important role in a significant change in my life.

On July 26, I informed my longtime employer, ICD Publications, that I would be leaving after more than nine-and-a-half years as a member of the editorial staff of HomeWorld Business. In August, I will be joining AOL Patch, a group of community news websites spreading across Long Island and in several other states, as a Regional Director.

Changing jobs is never an easy choice, but after nearly 10 years working in the same place with many of the same people — many of whom I care about deeply — this choice was not a difficult as I thought. A few know my reasons, but I will keep those to myself for now.

But the foundation of this story lies in Facebook and a connection I made with Hilary Topper, owner of HJMT Communications, a Nassau County-based PR firm. Hilary and I first met in the mid-90s when her company was in its infancy. Over the next 10 years or so, as happens, we lost touch, but were able to reconnect about a year ago through the magic of Facebook.

We had dinner in February, which gave us a chance to talk about our lives over the past 10 or so years and our thoughts about the future. In the weeks that followed, she would invite me to sit on a discussion panel for the Hauppauge Industrial Association, where I would meet the person who will now be a co-worker at Patch. It was this connection that would lead to a number of conversations during the late spring and early summer and ultimately a job offer from AOL.

For me, Facebook has given me the opportunity to reconnect with friends from the past and even make new connections. And now it will allow me to connect daily with some colleagues and friends I leave behind. Who knows, maybe it will help them follow in my footsteps.

And as for Hilary, I owe her a big hug and and even bigger dinner.

One Moment With “The Voice”

For baseball fans, most notably generations of Yankees fan, the golden voice of Bob Sheppard was as much a part of the Yankees Stadium experience as hot dogs, a cold beer and Cracker Jacks.

But the booming voice of Sheppard, called by some “The Voice of God,” has been silenced. The Baldwin, Long Island, resident died at the age of 99, and with him goes a another piece of Yankees history and someone who has watched the Bronx Bombers for decades spanning Joe DiMaggio to Derek Jeter.

As a kid — even one like me that was raised a Mets fan thanks to relatives who grew up in Brooklyn rooting for the Dodgers — my friends and I would always try to emulate Sheppard’s voice with little success during whiffle ball games. No matter which New York baseball team you rooted for, there was no mistaking the voice booming from the speakers at the old ballpark in The Bronx.

Some years later, I was working as a reporter for the Long Beach Herald when my brief moment with “the voice” would come. It was August of 1995 and Mickey Mantle had just died. Given The Mick’s own impact on a generation of Yankees fans, some colleagues were working on a local angle story on Mantle’s passing. An editor (Jeff Kleuwer) for a sister paper had called Sheppard to get his thoughts on Mantle.

While sitting at my desk working on what was a typical day, our receptionist was out to lunch when the phone rang. “Good afternoon; The Herald,” I said upon picking up the handset. “Jeff Kleuwer, please,” said “the voice” on the other end of the call. Usually I would ask the caller his/her name, but this voice needed no introduction.

For a second I froze, before I asked, “Is this Bob Sheppard?” full-well knowing the answer.

“Yes,” he responded politely, in that voice that sounded just as good even without the echo from the stadium.

“Please hold; let me get Jeff for you,” I said.

I put the call through and my one moment with “The Voice” was over.

Rest in peace, Mr. Sheppard. I can only image the hall of fame lineup he’ll be introducing tomorrow.

(Some) Parents Just Don’t Understand…

First, let’s state the blatantly obvious; West Islip loves its lacrosse. The boy’s high school team in June won the Class A state title for the fourth time over the past five years and at the youth level the sport continues to grow with some players even choosing lacrosse over baseball.

My son is one of many local youngsters who plays youth lacrosse, so I get to not only enjoy his games, but also get to observe the behavior of parents at these games. Most parents act like adults. But for others, the games of 10 year olds appear to be of great importance.

During a recent summer league game between one of West Islip’s youth league teams and a squad from another south shore Suffolk hamlet, I had the pleasure of standing beside two screaming mothers. At first my annoyance level began to rise, but then I realized the entertainment value in watching and listening to two grown woman screeching “play defense; white on rice,” and “get the ball.”

“Get the ball” is always my favorite. I think the young players know they have to get the ball. Duh! That’s pretty much the object of the game. But I digress.

There is an absolute clear line between cheering a child’s successes and screaming at the youngsters in an effort to get them to succeed while perhaps seeking to fill a void in a parent’s life. Any coach will tell you the instructions bellowed by parents from the stands serves only to confuse the kids and usually runs counter to what the coach’s instructions are to their players. Coaches are trying to teach their players how to play the game in a more proper fashion. Some parents are only focused on the scoreboard.

Winning is nice, but winning the wrong way at a young age is much more detrimental than losing the right way. At the age of 9 or 10, coaches work to teach youngsters how to play the game properly. And during that learning curve, failures often proceed successes. But success will come, and in the case of West Islip lacrosse, they have come in bunches.

So the best thing parent can do? Practice with their kids at home; teach them the outcome of hard work whether on the field or in the classroom; and love them unconditionally. Oh, and let the coaches coach. That formula usually leads to a great finished product.

A Great Day For A Game…

Ernie Banks, the Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame shortstop once said, “It’s a great day for a ball game. Let’s play two!”

I’m not sure if Banks is a lacrosse fan, but for one warm spring day in West Islip, I bet he would have found a great deal of appreciation in a community gathering at its high school to support a local athletic team.

On Wednesday, May 5, two of the nation’s top high school lacrosse teams met at West Islip High School in a game that grabbed the attention of an estimated 1,500 fans; most from West Islip and a few that made the trip west from East Setauket to support the Patriots of Ward Melville. The turnout was more impressive given the mid-week scheduling and the game’s 4:30 start time.

The game was a battle between two schools that have been at the pinnacle of high school lacrosse for years. West Islip has won three of the past four New York State Class A Championships and Ward Melville for years in the 80s and 90s was the dominant high school lacrosse program on Long Island.

While the game on the field — a 16-5 West Islip victory — proved not be the epic battle most expected, perhaps the more significant part of the day was the turnout by the community. The high school bleachers were packed with a mix of parents and student of all ages, many adorned in their bright blue little league lacrosse jerseys, on hand to support the boys lacrosse team.

For a day, West Islip was the center of the lacrosse universe on Long Island. There’s something exciting about seeing parked cars lining Higbie Lane near the high school; seeing TV cameras rolling; and knowing that our community was the hub of attention for a sport that continues to grow in prominence across the country. These are things our community should celebrate.

It’s just a shame they couldn’t have played two.

No Good Deed…

I love the Internet.

Maybe that’s an obvious statement coming from someone who runs as web-based news outlet, but the World Wide Web provides people around the world the opportunity to find information and keep up with daily headlines quickly and easily.

But as with anything that has so many positives, there are always a few negatives. A recent conversation with a West Islip resident over a message board drove me to read the handful of posts written anonymously by people that may or may not live in our community about a few people that volunteer their time in various local organizations. Since none of the posters were courageous enough to use their real name, and in some cases not even claim to live in West Islip, it’s a bit of a challenge to tell whom they are or where they really live.

The people mentioned in the posts by the anonymous posters are folks who volunteer their time in various clubs and organizations that serve the youngsters of the hamlet. I know most of those mentioned and even work with a few of them on various endeavors as part of an effort to make our community a better place to live. In the posts on this message board, certain members of the community are accused of essentially running some type of cabal strictly for their benefit.

Covering community journalism over certain parts of my professional career for the past 16 years, I’ve heard similar accusations in the past in other communities on Long Island but have never personally seen an unpaid volunteer (forgive me for the redundancy) personally benefit from donating their time to a certain organization. I guess that’s why someone first uttered the cliché “No good deed goes unpunished.”

As a journalist, I have certain instincts. One, is to listen with an open mind to what people say and, two, is to be cynical and question what they are saying. And it’s also vitally important to know the identity of the person you are talking with. Typically, if someone fails to reveal their identity, then what they are saying has little or no validity. Even Bob Woodward knew Deep Throat’s real name.

Which leads me back to the anonymous people posting on the website alluded to earlier. If you’re that confident in what you’re claiming and have proof to back up your accusations, we’d love to speak with you and let the community know of the “wrongs” being committed. But in the spirit of fairness, we would also need to reach out to the party being accused and allow them to present their side of the story as well.

Oh…and we’ll also need to get your properly spelled name (the one given to you by your parents) to publish in our stories. Since you’ve been so willing to besmirch someone else’s name, it’s only fair that we use your name as well. Don’t you think?

A Bit Of Entertainment During Mundane Meetings

I’ve spent many an evening over the past 16 years as a journalist covering meetings of governmental bodies and boards of education. While these meetings rarely pack the house, they have always been good sources of news and at times good sources of entertainment.

In recent weeks, the West Islip Board of Education has held several public hearings focused on the 2010-11 spending plan that will go before local residents for a vote in May. These meetings attract the usual suspects from the school community: PTA members, administrators, teachers, and some parents interested in staying informed about the budget issues that face the school district.

But as with any public meeting, one can usually find one or two gadflies. Gadfly is word journalists use because calling someone a kook in print (or on-line in our case) would likely lead to a complaint or two. In the three years since launching WestIslipTribune.com, West Islip has been well short on gadflies when compared to other communities I have covered. That’s right Long Beach, I’m talking about you.

Lately, however, there have been one or two gadflies that have surfaced. While the name of one particular individual has been omitted here to protect the guilty, the public comments made by this person at recent board meetings has at times led me to look around the room to see if Jay Leno or Jon Stewart have had hidden cameras rolling.

While the comments of this person have contained little in the way of substance and have also shown little understanding of the current financial climate, they have undoubtedly thought outside-the-box when offering budget cutting suggestions to the board of education. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but one that jumps to mind was the suggestion to construct new school buildings because they would be more energy efficient and save money long term through energy cost savings. Well, it’s a thought.

I’m not sure of the motivation of this person. My first instinct was that this was a individual who was attempting to become informed about the financial workings of the school district. An effort that is admirable. But lately I have felt that the effort bordered on being a demagogue. But I quickly talked myself out of that theory. Too many syllables.

I Heard What You Said…But Can I Have It Anyway?

The process of watching a school district and its board of education put together a budget can be fascinating and tedious at the same time. But deciding how to spend $100 million dollars to educate the children of West Islip is undoubtedly the most important job of local educators and board trustees.

Our board of education in West Islip provides local residents the opportunity to sit in and listen to how the school district will spend precious tax dollars. Attending the meetings also provide an education in that school administrators clearly outline how are schools are funded and the unique challenges that face the school district.

But two things continue to amaze me about school budget hearings. One is the continued lack of interest shown by the community as a whole. The fact that the board of education is able to hold their public budget meetings in the library at Beach Street Middle School is maddening and somewhat sad. The school district advertises the meetings on its website and WestIslipTribune.com also promoted the dates. I guess property taxes are not an issue here.

My other point of amazement is how some residents at local meetings can be tone deaf. Through two meetings as of March 2, School Superintendent Dr. Beth Virginia Blau had been quite clear in outlining the financial hurdles facing the school district as it works to develop a spending plan for the 2010-11 school year.

While those challenges are too many to outline here — see article on WestIslipTribune.com — this is not the year to be asking for new programs, Smart Boards in every class room or extra teachers where none are needed. Whether fair or not, this generation of students may have to learn to do more with less, or at least the same. We all want the best for our students. But when looking at the national economy, having the best without the ability to pay is a dangerous proposition.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I have two children who attend Manetuck, which is West Islip’s largest elementary school in terms of student population.

Many local residents cannot afford a significant increase in their property taxes. Job losses, shrinking home values and other economic factors are squeezing many of our neighbors. In fact, the need for donations to local food pantries remains dire since a growing number of West Islip residents are seeking help in an effort to keep their cupboards from being completely bare.

So while I understand some may want a bit extra for their particular school, it’s important to keep in mind that what the school board does for one, it has to do for all. And that leads to spending funds that just aren’t available.