Editor's life features variety and volunteerism
On Oct. 2, Timeslndicator Editor Rich Wheater visited Carol Korenstra's Grant High School journalism class for a session that put him in the unaccustomed role of being the subject rather than the conductor of an interview. Korenstra's students, including Jordan Reeder, wrote about the interview as a class assignment.
By Jordan Reeder
Rich Wheater, editor of the Timeslndicator, has not only been involved with the duties that come with running a small-town newspaper, but has been involved in PRIDE of Newaygo County for 15 years.
Wheater graduated from Fremont High School in 1977.
In an Oct. 2 interview with the Grant High School journalism class, he said that he had no career plans in high school.
"I thought about being a writer," he said, "but I didn't actively pursue this career choice beyond picking a few extra English classes in high school."
Unlike many of his peers, he didn't go to college right after high school. "I was crossing things out; trying to decide what I wanted to do," said Rich. "I worked in a restaurant for one night."
When reading through the Grand Rapids Press, he recognized the name of Tom Rademacher, who wrote articles for the newspaper. Wheater realized that being a journalist could work for him too.
This led him to go to Ferris State University when he was 23 years old. He worked hard to earn an Associate's Degree in Community Journalism. However, he began to run out of money after the first year.
"I began to take night classes, summer classes, and anything else I could do to earn the degree," he said. With his wife working full-time and Rich himself doing freelance writing, he managed to earn his degree in a year and a quarter.
His first job out of college was, amazingly enough, at the Timeslndicator. He said that he had wanted to write for a small-town newspaper, but he didn't expect to write for a newspaper in the community where he grew-up.
"I think they just picked me up because I was an old hometown boy," he joked.
After three years, he became the editor, which is his current post. Wheater said that he enjoys the variety that being an editor provides.
"I might be in the office one day and out covering a football game the next," he said. "The editor of a community newspaper has a unique role. Anything of importance comes across my desk."
As the editor, Rich also meets interesting people. "At the Spey Fest last week (a fly-fishing festival held in Newaygo), I was able to meet a German two-handed fly-fishing champion," he said.
Being the editor comes with strings attached, however."It is difficult for me to leave town for very long," he said. "The paper has been published for 130 years without missing a week. It is hard to be gone for days in a row with a small staff of five full-time workers."
Wheater's busy schedule is made even more hectic by his work with PRIDE of Newaygo County. He is the senior advisor for the local teen substance abuse prevention group.
He first became involved with PRIDE when he went to the 1993 national PRIDE conference, held in Cincinnati, Ohio.
"Jay DeWispelere, head of PRIDE of Newaygo County, invited me to the conference," Wheater said. "I tried to tell him that I couldn't be away from my paper for so long, but he persuaded me to go when he told me that PRIDE of Newaygo County was being named Team of the Year. I enjoyed being around them, and I got hooked on PRIDE."
His wife, LouAnne, who is employed at the PRIDE Youth Programs international headquarters in Fremont, also volunteers with PRIDE of Newaygo County. Their daughter, Patti, is teaching Spanish at Grant High School, works as the conference planner for PRIDE Youth Programs, and volunteers as an advisor with PRIDE of Newaygo County. Their son, Richard Jr. (also known as Bubba), is a student at Grand Valley State University.
Rich Wheater said that he plans to stay with PRIDE of Newaygo County in the years to come. He hopes the team members who graduate come back and run the program. "I want to hand over control," he said.
In his free time, Wheater plays the guitar and mandolin. He is a lead singer in the Northwood Brothers gospel group. Three of the members are his natural brothers and almost all of the members have been together for at least 40 years.
Although the job market at big metropolitan newspapers may not be strong, Wheater said that he hopes that students will seriously consider being journalists.
"I'm always looking for help to get articles," he said. "It's a good way to see what being a journalist is like."
While he didn't think he would be the editor of a small-town newspaper when he finished high school, Wheater said that he is happy with his career choice.
"I didn't realize it at first, but being the editor of a newspaper is a great job," he said. "There's no bigger reward than when you realize that people are reading what you wrote."
10/22/2008 Times Indicator Article (p. 6) Times Indicator
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