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I’ve found most people generally have two schools of thought when it comes to approaching their work.
There are the clock watchers — the folks who just try to get the job done quickly, so they can get home to their family and friends.
Then there are folks that put in painstakingly long hours to make sure every angle is covered, every ‘i’ is dotted and every ‘t’ is crossed.
Former West Point News Editor Willis Mahannah is one of those people.
I had the honor of presenting Mahannah with the Nebraska Press Association’s Master Editor-Publisher Award Friday night in Lincoln.
This is considered one of the highest honors the Press Association can give its members. The award was established in 1972. In that first year, Joe W. Seacrest of Lincoln was honored as the inaugural Master Editor Publisher. Since then 48 editors or publishers have been honored. The last time this award was given out was in 2019, when Kent Warneke of the Norfolk Daily News was honored.
Willis is very deserving of this award. If he has questions on a new city ordinance, he’ll track down all the stakeholders, and talk to every source until he knows enough to put together a well-informed piece. If the county board needs to be nudged into action, he’ll craft an editorial to do just that.
And nine times out of 10, that article or editorial not only did a great job of informing the public, but also earned Willis state or national awards for his reporting and writing skills.
I’m not sure Dick and Gwen Lindberg really knew what kind of gem they were getting when they hired Willis to work for the West Point News nearly 40 years ago, but it didn’t take them long to figure out they had a talented, hard-working journalist. He not only has a deep appreciation for his craft, but also cares deeply about the people he wrote about, and continues to write about each week.
When Tom Kelly purchased the News from the Lindbergs in 1992, he negotiated with the Lindbergs until he made sure that Willis was part of the package — he’s no dummy.
On a side note, Peggy and I bought the Cedar County News from Tom believe me ... that man knows how to negotiate.
When we first moved to Nebraska — 33 years ago this week — it didn’t take long to figure out who the best journalists were ... Paul Hammel, Art Hovey, Kent Warneke and Willis Mahannah.
Every time I’d see one of their bylines, I’d read the story and learn from it.
Willis has been informing, educating and entertaining readers ever since he first started penning articles for the Wayne State College newspaper back in the early 1980s. From there, he took his talents to Pender, working for Fuzz Hansen before moving to West Point to work for the Lindbergs.
Even in retirement, he can’t give up his love for the profession. You’ll still see his byline from time to time in the Norfolk Daily News or the West Point News.
And he still has that same passion for the job ... that same meticulous way of crafting an article into an easy to comprehend, well-written piece.
The West Point News, the citizens of West Point, the residents of Cumming County and the people of Nebraska have benefited greatly because of this man’s strong work ethic and even stronger desire to make sure he was getting his facts right, and telling a balanced, insightful story.
Indeed, he’s a true example of what community journalism is all about — the type of journalist we can all look up to.
