Seven years is a long time to do anything these days — let alone work at the same newspaper job, pulling in mediocre wages coupled with increased responsibilities, ever-grumpier bosses … you get the picture.
But after seven years at the BBJ, my right hand, Dave Gallagher, is leaving to take the post of the Herald’s brand new business editor.
They’re getting a good one.
Dave is as hard a worker and as responsible an employee as there is, and I know he’ll do a heckuva job over there.
Certainly, many of the scoops we almost take for granted here at the BBJ will have to be worked for just that much harder once Dave is ensconced at his desk over on the Dark Side of State Street.
Sure, we’ve been giving Dave a bit of a hard time these last few weeks. If nothing else, it’s been fun inventing lots of new nicknames for him since he made his announcement:
Losing as important and trusted an employee as Dave is actually no laughing matter. Replacing him will be impossible; we’ve worked together almost from the month I became the editor here. He knows what I want or don’t want almost before I do. I never have to worry that what I asked him to do won’t get done — and that
doesn’t come around often.
Luckily, I’ve still got J.J. Jensen, who has bested all the challenges of his position since he arrived here from the Seattle Times, and I can promise you that whomever I hire to fill Dave’s position will have the same drive and commitment to editorial excellence that we have become known for as a staff.
So we bid a tearful bon voyage to Dave, and wish him well. We’ll miss hearing about the woes of his rotisserie baseball team. The sleepless nights and wondrous, discovery-filled days with his baby daughter, Ella. The penchant for discovering a list of trivia and starting an office-wide impromptu “Jeopardy” match with it. His “I know where everything is” style of desk cleanliness (which I share), and, of course, our annual college bowl-games extravaganza.
Most of all, we’ll all miss the easygoing nature and carefree laugh of our friend.
Good luck, Dave. If you need anything, you know where to find us. Just don’t tell the Sith Lord all our secrets.
John Thompson is publisher and editor of The Bellingham Business Journal. He can be reached by calling 647-8805, or via e-mail at bbjedit@
businessjournal.org.
