One of my favorite stories to tell is when Kyle Troutman, now my husband, did not want to hire me but begrudgingly did — then he proposed to me one year later.
That is the short version, but it always gets a look or a chuckle. The more detailed version starts with me as a waitress and a single mom who was in and out of college for a psychology degree, applying for a job in journalism that I honestly had no business applying for.
To be fair to my loving husband, he was kind of right. I had no idea what I was doing when I started, and he taught me literally everything I know about journalism.
I am now pursuing my master’s degree in marriage and family therapy, but in the meantime, I went from waitress to reporter to newspaper co-owner in 5 years.
That was certainly never a path I thought I would travel, but we are elated and love being business owners.
I have won multiple journalism awards over the years, and I always have a bit of imposter syndrome when it happens. I think, “Who am I to earn that award? I didn’t study journalism, and my degrees in psychology are far different from my husband’s degrees in journalism.”
A couple of years ago, Kyle was the sitting president of the Ozark Press Association. He gave me a call one day and asked if I wanted to be on the board.
He actually called me on speakerphone during an open OPA board meeting. Despite it kind of blindsiding me, I forgave him for that because joining the OPA board has been so much more than I ever expected.
I was elected vice president of the OPA in October 2023 at the annual convention and served a year under the new president of the OPA, the amazing Amanda Mendez, owner of the Howell County News in Willow Springs.
Naturally, our first order of business was coordinating our outfits for the 2024 OPA Convention held a few weeks ago. I joke, but not really. The photo accompanying this column shows our efforts.
From October 2023 to October 2024, Amanda hosted a number of board meetings to discuss the annual convention for her term.
Those are my favorite meetings. We discuss all the intricacies of newspapers, including advertising, legals, mailing, design, reporting and newspaper ownership. “Why own a newspaper” was actually a panel at the 2023 OPA convention, as the majority of the board members are owners.
It is usually a couple hours drive for Kyle and I to attend these meetings, and we always spend the drive back home discussing what we learned and other ideas that stem from the new knowledge.
One thing I said to Kyle when I first joined this organization was, “They don’t treat me any differently because I don’t have a history or education in journalism.”
It was that imposter syndrome that made me hesitate to join in the first place.
Yet, Kyle told me they see me as an equal, someone who has put the work in to learn the ropes and someone who has been recognized for those efforts.
These are my people now, and I love it. In fact, I reached out to two members to gather information to write this column.
The OPA was founded in 1889, originally called the Southwest Missouri Press Association. The name was changed to Ozark Press Association in 1911. The records gathered over the years are incomplete before 1930.
A president serves just a one-year term. However, board members typically serve in different positions for many years, sometimes even multiple presidencies.
The Cassville Democrat has held the seat of OPA president four times since 1889.
• 1911-1913 – Means Ray
• 1969 – Bob Mitchell
• 2022 – Kyle Troutman
• 2025 – Jordan Troutman
I was officially sworn in as president of the OPA in October 2024. I even have a gavel on my desk that I shamelessly show off to anyone who will listen. The gavel is the only reason our oldest daughter supported me in this role — she wanted it back in the office.
While records are not complete, I estimate that I am the 15th female president of the OPA in its 135-year history.
When I first began writing this column in my head, I thought maybe I could tie that fact into a congratulations to the first female president of the United States…. but I digress.
Nevertheless, I am honored to have served as a female vice-president for a female president.
I am honored that a mother handed that gavel to another mother.
I am honored that a female newspaper owner stood side-by side with a female newspaper owner to serve back-to-back terms as OPA president.
TroutMom says, “Being a wife, mother, student, business owner and woman does not lessen the value of any of those roles.”
Jordan Troutman is the Owner and General Manager of the Cassville Democrat, President of the Ozark Press Association, a wife, a mother of two daughters and a graduate of Capella University with a Bachelor’s in General Psychology. She is pursuing a Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy. She may be reached at jtroutman@cassville-democrat. com.
