Larry Croix didn’t think we’d even read the letter of inquiry he wrote in November 2008 when we issued a call for editorial board members. His humble selling point at the time was that “I am probably very different from the individuals who normally apply for this position.”
Well, there isn’t a mold we look for in community editorial board members, other than folks with a level head, an interest in local issues and the ability to discuss those civilly in a group. We also try to maintain a balance of political viewpoints, backgrounds and place of residence so the county is fairly represented. Larry, seen at left, a retired Port Orchard resident who had been a frequent commentor on kitsapsun.com (and frequent critic of the Port of Bremerton), fit that criteria far better than he had speculated. So we invited him to join the board, and didn’t regret the decision.
Near the end of his one-year term — during which he proved himself to be thoughtful when listening, informed when asking questions, patient in taking a stance and vocal when sticking to a belief — he asked to write a “My Turn” column.
But rather than returning to posting his opinion on stories after his term on the board expired, Larry offered me more columns. We’ve published a few of them this year. He’s taken a shine to writing and crafting an opinion, and now, 18 months after meeting Larry, we’ll start publishing those more frequently.
Larry is joining our stable of community columnists in Thursday’s paper, and you’ll see his work twice a month on Thursdays for the foreseeable future. I’d invite you to offer any feedback you have, either to me or straight to Larry. Sun Opinion page community columnists — currently Pam Dzama, Larry Little, Rob Woutat and occasionally Roger Koskela — don’t write at my direction or at the behest of the editorial board, so he’ll learn how to deal with that part of having your mug in print.
While I’m on that topic, if you’re interested in joining that group, or know a local writer who would be a good fit, I’m always willing to listen (or read, perhaps). We added illustrator Abell Smith last Sunday, who will draw two cartoons per month for the Opinion page, and more Kitsap voices on that page improves the local conversation and furthers the relevance of the forum we offer. My email address, as always: dnelson@kitsapsun.com.
And to Larry: You didn’t think we’d be interested the first time, but we were and you didn’t disappoint. Now we’ll try it again. How’s that for pressure? (Good luck.)
