Last weekend, I made the trek to Osage Beach for the annual Missouri Press Association Convention, stomach in knots with every turn that I would leave empty-handed.
In a sense, I did, as this was the first year in the last eight — my entire eligible career in Missouri — that neither the Monett Times nor Cassville Democrat won a Gold Cup.
In an industry where newspaper sizes constantly change, usually becoming smaller, both papers were pitted against some stiff competition. Knowing their staffs and seeing their product, they deserved all the accolades.
While there was no gold, there were plenty of plaques and certificates. Combined, The Monett Times and Cassville Democrat won 49 awards. The Democrat was much less in contention for the cup, but Monett was in range. The Times tallied 27 awards total, two more than winner Sedalia, but the latter had double the first-place plaques.
Quantity is excellent, but quality separates the best from the best.
As I drove home on Saturday after the awards luncheon, I had a smidgen of disappointment that our normally too-heavy-to-carry box was trophy-less this year.
However, I still had a beaming smile on my face, and what was in my hand was something you couldn’t exactly win.
Our showing still represented our area of the state exceptionally well, and some of our work was noticed by people, one in particular, I didn’t expect.
On Friday, I arrived just before the noon lunch. Our guest speaker was Dan Meers, who has been the KC Wolf mascot for 30 years.
As the session before the lunch was running long, I perused the displays of award-winning photos, admiring our winners like the Freedom and Fireworks, Shop with a Cop and Knights and Dragons photo packages in Monett.
As I reached the end of the display, I found one of my photos, a steer wrestling shot capturing the cowboy mid-takedown. A fellow I didn’t recognize walked up and said, “Wow, these are some really great photos. Did you take any of these?”
I smiled and pointed to the blue ribbon rodeo shot. “That one’s mine,” I gleamed.
The gentleman was awed at the shot’s timing, and he joked he hoped the cowboy’s eyes were on the steer, not the horse’s hind end running ahead of him.
An MPA employee then walked up and said, “Hey Dan, we need to go over something with you real quick before your presentation.”
The gentleman was Dan Meers. After realizing who he was and overcoming being a little starstruck at the casualness of the conversation, I approached Meers in the banquet hall.
We chatted for about 10 minutes about everything from the most fun and difficult aspects of his job to the fast-paced, do-a-bit-of-everything aspects of mine.
We talked about our kids and how our families handle our jobs, and after allowing me a photo, we parted and he got prepared for his speech.
In his presentation, he covered his background and achievements, not only as a mascot but also in helping orphanages across the globe. He detailed his near-death experience, falling from a zip-line bungee cord 70 feet into the seats of Arrowhead Stadium and breaking multiple vertebrae along with other injuries.
How that experience affected his life led him to leave us with three things to remember.
First, live each day with character, purpose and passion. Here, here.
Second, the most important things in life are your relationships. Again, grounded advice for a group of journalists that often sacrifice home life for the business.
And third, choose every day whether you want to find something to complain about, or to be thankful for what you have.
“It’s OK to have pain in your life,” he quoted Mother Teresa, “But it’s not OK to be one.”
I hope others in that room were inspired by what Meers said, whether they won just one award or if they won 100.
I know his impact was made upon me, and I hope it continues to inspire our work as we continue to work to provide the best community journalism in the state.
Kyle Troutman has served as the editor of the Cassville Democrat since 2014. In 2017, he was named William E. James/Missouri Outstanding Young Journalist for daily newspapers, and in 2022, he won a Golden Dozen Award from ISWINE. He may be reached at 417-847-2610 or ktroutman@cherryroad.com.
