COLUMN: I'm thankful I get to serve Owen County

When I was in college, the saying, "Love what you do, and you'll never work a day in your life," was said a lot.

And when I graduated nearly a decade ago, I did so with the same lofty dreams of all recent college graduates pursuing a career in journalism – I was going to become a war correspondent in the Middle East, work for The New York Times or better yet, do both.

And naturally, I was disappointed when my first newspaper job was in none other than neighboring Martinsville. But I learned a lot, then left for a design job in Columbus, Indiana. I learned a lot more, then left, taking a job, here in Spencer, at The Spencer Evening World. I learned some more, but this time, I stayed.

There's just something special about Sweet Owen.

I was devastated when I was laid off from The Spencer Evening World in 2019, and for several years, I freelanced, desperately wanting to remain connected to journalism and to this community.

Fast forward to the March 2022 legislative breakfast. After the event, I had a conversation with Marce King, CEO of the Chamber of Commerce. I was excitedly telling her about an investigative piece that I was working on. I'm sure I had that spark, that glimmer that true news junkies get when they're on the verge of a fix.

Marce indulged me, and then she asked me a question that has forever changed my life, and unknowingly, yours too. She asked, "What would it take to have a robust online-only news outlet that had a flyer with the recent headlines and instructions on reading it online?"

I had no clue, both in the answer to the question Marce asked me, and in what would be in store for me. I told her I'd look into it, and she told me to create a business plan.

I knew nothing about making a business plan, so I researched it, found a template and made a really bad first attempt. In my research, I stumbled across the idea of forming a nonprofit news outlet. At first, the naive idea of there being tons of operational grants (which shows you how little I knew about grant writing) and the tax status seemed alluring. But the more I sat with it, I realized the most important reason that nonprofit news works, especially in small, close-knit communities – nonprofits are owned by their board of directors, comprised of members of the community. It makes nonprofit news owned by the community it covers.

Marce took my bad, half-baked business plan to Janet Rummel at the community foundation, and Janet connected me with two key folks – Laura Wilkerson and Travis Curry. Travis, Janet and I met, and Janet encouraged us to apply for a Large Impact Grant to serve as a planning grant to research nonprofit news models, to survey the community and to create the foundation of what would become The Owen News.

That July, we had the first, unofficial board meeting with Niki Gessler, Aaron LaGrange, Darrell White, Laura, Travis and I. And later, Ale Young, Kurt Rosenberger, Ashley Fleetwood, Larken Seymour and Stefan Welsh joined the board. We hired an independent contractor in Lola Garrison, and we hosted our first intern, Hannah Amos. Hannah's mom, Margaret Amos, has also been a staunch supporter and volunteer. Some have stayed, some have had to leave for various reasons, but each has left their mark on this project.

The ways that this community shows up never ceases to amaze me. When we were spinning our wheels, the Chamber came out with their business buildout program and helped us build our foundation. When we needed a place, the Exchange co-working space was being created. When we wanted to have a ribbon cutting and wanted to provide lunch, Steve Witham, Spencer Main Street and of course, Steve's smoker Baby came to the rescue. And now, when we've needed the ability to grow and make this sustainable, the Owen County Community Foundation and generous donors throughout the community have said, we value local news. This newspaper exists because of our community. It succeeds because of our community. It is special because of our community.

I often think about whether or not what I do is "work," and with time, I've learned it's not just what you do. That saying is only partially true. I get to do what I love and what I'm passionate about. But I've worked as a journalist before, and I've had jobs even outside of the industry that I loved. What the saying is missing, and what really makes a job no longer feel like work is doing what you love in a place that you love with people that you love. Then, and only then are you not working.

I feel so honored that I get to serve this community, my community, in this way. I'm excited about this new chapter for me and for The Owen News because I get to do what I love, where I love, in a community that I love.

Nicole DeCriscio is the soon-to-be inaugural Executive Editor of The Owen News. Her first day will be Jan. 13.

DeCriscio serves on the national board of directors for the Society of Professional Journalists.