Allegan County News - Allegan, Michigan. . . January 11, 2007 Page 1
Nu's Year in review
Nu finds small towns think like big ones
By Nu Yang
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
I admit it: I like the city (I grew up in Lansing and have lived in Grand Rapids), so, when I accepted a position to be a full-time staff writer at the Allegan County News in the summer of 2005, then moved to Allegan that winter, I had to wonder if this was the right kind of career move for me.
It's been a year, and I still feel like the new kid around here, but one thing has changed - thanks to that career move, I have met many people (from doctors to ghost writers) who take small town living and think big with it. I am glad they were willing to share their time with me. Thanks for helping me make Allegan into my new home.
Here's one of my favorite stories that I covered in 2006.
Hurricane Katrina Mission Trip (February 2006) When I met Pastor Don Hendrick in August 2005, I was interviewing him because he was the new pastor at Allegan's First Church of God. We spoke (or rather, he did) for two hours. He was a man on a mission. Who would have thought in five more months we'd be driving 27 hours in a yellow school bus to Pass Christian, Mississippi?
Pastor Hendrick's mission to help Hurricane Katrina victims in Mississippi came to my attention when he sent me an e-mail. He wanted to get the word out about the upcoming trip. I followed up with an article, and then I got the idea to go along with the volunteers on their week-long trip-actually go on an assignment with a camera and a notepad. Pastor Hendrick was ecstatic about the idea.
Once I got approval from my editor and publisher, I was set to go. The trip was from Feb. 17 to Feb 25. We braved ice storms, porta-potties, bowls and bowls of oatmeal and sleeping on cots, but in the end, it was about the people we helped.
I was amazed at this group of people - the majority of them from Allegan County (and I was pleased a few of the volunteers had read my article about the trip and that was why they were coming). They took a week out of their busy lives, left loved ones at home and traveled in a school bus to Mississippi to help residents - these strangers - rebuild what they had lost in the hurricane.
I saw a change in them by the end of the week, and what surprised me most was the change I saw in myself - not only as a journalist, but also as a person.
In Mississippi, doors opened for me (everyone from the mayor of Pass Christian to the woman who lost her home), but I think the door I'm most grateful that opened for me was the one by Pastor Hendrick and the volunteers I met that week.
One of my favorite photos was of the Car Bash:
It's been a year, and I still feel like the new kid around here, but one thing has changed - thanks to that career move, I have met many people (from doctors to ghost writers) who take small town living and think big with it. I am glad they were willing to share their time with me. Thanks for helping me make Allegan into my new home.
Here's one of my favorite stories that I covered in 2006.
Hurricane Katrina Mission Trip (February 2006) When I met Pastor Don Hendrick in August 2005, I was interviewing him because he was the new pastor at Allegan's First Church of God. We spoke (or rather, he did) for two hours. He was a man on a mission. Who would have thought in five more months we'd be driving 27 hours in a yellow school bus to Pass Christian, Mississippi?
Pastor Hendrick's mission to help Hurricane Katrina victims in Mississippi came to my attention when he sent me an e-mail. He wanted to get the word out about the upcoming trip. I followed up with an article, and then I got the idea to go along with the volunteers on their week-long trip-actually go on an assignment with a camera and a notepad. Pastor Hendrick was ecstatic about the idea.
Once I got approval from my editor and publisher, I was set to go. The trip was from Feb. 17 to Feb 25. We braved ice storms, porta-potties, bowls and bowls of oatmeal and sleeping on cots, but in the end, it was about the people we helped.
I was amazed at this group of people - the majority of them from Allegan County (and I was pleased a few of the volunteers had read my article about the trip and that was why they were coming). They took a week out of their busy lives, left loved ones at home and traveled in a school bus to Mississippi to help residents - these strangers - rebuild what they had lost in the hurricane.
I saw a change in them by the end of the week, and what surprised me most was the change I saw in myself - not only as a journalist, but also as a person.
In Mississippi, doors opened for me (everyone from the mayor of Pass Christian to the woman who lost her home), but I think the door I'm most grateful that opened for me was the one by Pastor Hendrick and the volunteers I met that week.
One of my favorite photos was of the Car Bash:
The car bash was hosted by Allegan's First Church of God in August as a way for motorists to take out their frustrations from the summer's high gas prices. When I arrived to take the picture, 73-year-old Wayne Cram was waiting to be the first one to take a hit at the donated car. He made the front page the following week. Why not do it again? (Photo by Nu Yang)
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