Captain’s Log: It’s called Manifesting

It’s high time we update the “How I Built a Rural Newspaper Empire” journal with a report on the joining in of the Winnemucca Publishing papers into the Fallon Media Co. papers. 

We’ve had some men down – figuratively speaking not everyone made the transition and we’re three shy on the staff up north but managed to pick up a new team member who is solid gold and fits right into the high-performance machine we’re building. I’ve said over years, “if I had three of her, we’d be cooking with fire,” whenever we find a really good one. 

I don’t know if this is something most people think about – I never gave it a moment’s notice until I was personally employing people – responsible for paychecks and the money that covers them. 

When you spend most of your professional life managing teams and working for various government agencies, from local economic development offices to U.S. Senate staff to a federal government agency like the Small Business Administration or the U.S. Department of Agriculture, you’re peripherally aware of budgetary constraints. Mostly, though, it’s sort of cursory from a loosely responsible viewpoint. 

But when you’re responsible for finding the money and keeping enough of it in the bank account to cover payroll every two weeks, that makes you look at productivity in a whole different light. 

There are employees who roll up their sleeves and jump in, working just as hard and intently as you do, and then there are the ones who take up space or stir up trouble, who generally cause consternation over whether or not they’re pitching in to make money appear or if they’re just in the bathroom lighting dollar bills on fire. 

Speaking of bathrooms – we have two in the new office, one upstairs one down. They aren’t much to write home about, but serviceable. It’s the office, however, that we love! If you haven’t heard, we got to go into the old firehouse on Bridge Street in Winnemucca. After four hundred and thirty-four years in the office on Grass Valley Road, we have shaken loose of the behemoth and, with the graciousness of the City of Winnemucca, which owns the building, moved into the old firehouse. 

And we LOVE it. 

Ever since I was forced by my youngest daughter into watching, on repeat, The Princess Diaries, I’ve wanted to have a house in an old firehouse or an old church. Having an office is obviously the next best thing. Maybe even better. 

We’re still in the process of getting moved in, but as soon as we are I hope you all will stop by to see just how cool it is. 

So, while we unpack and get phones and computers working, and rebuild our team with high-performing magicians capable of all sorts of miracles, we’ll still be right here…

…Keeping you Posted.

Rach