I enjoyed being courtside at the Iowa Girls’ Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines on Wednesday, Feb. 28 to cover the number 8 Montezuma Bravettes game against the number 1 North Linn Lynx.
Even though the game didn’t turn out in Montezuma’s favor, the experience for those young ladies will last a lifetime and hopefully fuel them to get back to state next year. And for me, it’s a blessing from the Heavens to have the opportunity to be there and share my God given talents with my readers, friends and family. This was the fourth time I have covered the Bravettes at state and the fifth trip for the team in the last seven years. I was in attendance, but not on the sidelines, during the 2018 trip to Des Moines. I also covered the Montezuma Braves courtside in 2019, 2020 and 2021, when they won a Class 1A state championship. Being there capturing the raw emotion and excitement of the game, the fans and the players is something I will never forget. I’ve had the opportunity to cover the Grinnell Lady Tigers at state basketball in 2019 and the Grinnell Tiger boys at state basketball in 2012, 2013 and 2014. In addition, I’ve covered Montezuma, BGM and Grinnell at state football in the UNI-Dome a half dozen times over a period of years. And I’ve covered state track several years. And in 2014, during halftime of the Boys’ Class 1A final at Wells Fargo, I was honored with the Iowa High School Athletic Association’s (IHSAA) News Media Award. Debbie joined me as we walked to halfcourt where the announcer shared a short story about my career followed by the presentation of the award and photos. It’s a coveted and special honor to be named among some of the top news media and journalists in the State of Iowa. And just to think it all started with a camera I won in a weight loss bet in the winter of 1983. I was working as an assistant route manager for newspaper printing corporation in my hometown of Tulsa at the time. A good friend and co-worker of mine, John C., and I decided to go on a diet. We went to a local Mexican restaurant the evening before the diet started and stuffed ourselves with tacos, enchiladas, chips and tasty sopapillas, a fried treat that I poured honey on to eat. I ate so much, I thought staff might have to roll me to the car after the meal. When I got home, I took a short two-block walk through my neighborhood. We started the diet the next morning and two months later, we both stood on the scales. I lost 39 pounds to John’s 26. The secret to my success was exercise and cutting out Pepsi and sugary drinks. The bet was for $50, but instead, John had an older Konica brand 35mm camera that he gave me in lieu of the cash. It was one of the best gifts I could have received, as a few years later in 1987, I enrolled in a black and white photography class at Rogers State College (now University) in Claremore, Okla., the hometown of Will Rogers. It was there that the world of possibilities opened for me. I started believing in myself and thinking about my purpose in life. I attended RSC part-time for four years, two of which I studied photography and the last two years that I took humanities, speech, science, English, history and more. I earned my Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree in Graphic Technology (photography) in May 1991. One of my favorite courses, outside of photography, was humanities. The professor was excellent and made the class interesting, educational and fun. The final was a 100 slide identification of the various time periods in the world of art. I received an A in Humanities I, missing three slides, and an A, by one point, missing seven slides, in Humanities II the following semester. I attended community college back in the day when film was king. I learned to develop both black and white and color films and make prints in a darkroom. I learned a lot about photography working in a darkroom. From there, I went on to the University of Missouri-Columbia where I worked my way through school, first with the US Postal Service as a part-time casual clerk and later as a custodian on the MU campus. MU is a great school that challenged me and gave me many open doors and opportunities. I believed my way into journalism school, failing the entrance grammar exam twice before passing it with an 82 on the third try, which happened to be my 36th birthday. I needed an 80 to move on. I spent hours in tutoring sessions in both grammar and math and went on to graduate in December 1997 at the age of 38. I then landed in Iowa and for the last 26 years, outside of three years when I took a brief retirement and did freelance work, I have been sharing news and features stories and covering community events, high school sports and county fairs with my readers. I met my wife in this fine state and have spent nearly half my life in Iowa. I wouldn’t trade the experiences for anything in the world. Thank you to the fine folks in the communities I have worked in who have opened their homes, shared their stories and fed me. Everyone has a story to tell and I’ve got time to share them with others. I’m always looking for unique stories to write and share and plan to continue in that role for many more years. Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day.
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