By Edward Master
The saying goes "it's who you know" and in my case I knew an Indiana, PA, high school senior named Katy Gresh. I started that job-winning search through an innocent conversation at a warm-up band concert on a side street near downtown Indiana. I knew Katy through my duties as a substitute teacher at Indiana High School.
The concert was a tune-up for Indiana's band trip to Florida for the Orange Bowl parade. Katy was a member of the flag-carrying detail that prefaced the marching band. The concert was on 7th street not far from where we lived as my wife attended IUP graduate school. She also was a substitute teacher. We knew many of the band members through teaching. We looked up Katy to tell how pleased we were with the program. In conversation Katy remarked that her mother, Karen, was also in attendance.
I met Karen and struck up a conversation. Eventually, I told Karen of my background in technical writing, including working with the RCA Engineer magazine. In actuality I ended up with two jobs: one as a freelancer for IUP Magazine and the other as a sports writer for the Indiana (PA) Gazette. Karen happened to be the editor of the alumni magazine at IUP and needed someone to handle some technical-based articles. Tah dah I filled the bill!
Then Karen told me that a sports guy had left the Gazette to handle sports information duties at IUP and that the Gazette was short a writer in sports. Karen told me to contact Tony Cocaggna, the sports editor. I did and I got my start in the world of newspapering. My first assignment was a Saturday afternoon football game at United High School, not far south of Indiana. The Gazette covered sports in all of Indiana County from Rural Valley to Elderton to Ligonier; any school district with Indiana County students was within our coverage area. I even did a few football games with my home school of A-C Valley playing West Shamokin.
I was fortunate to have Tony as a mentor. Tony was an IUP graduate with a degree in journalism. He was a long-time experienced worker on newspapers. Basically, I needed and certainly the Pensto some style and formats for newspapers and procedures for the world of news. I did some features on out-of-the-norm sports and answered the phones on a night desk (shift). I once took game results from a Dayton boys basketball coach who happened to be the son of my former high school English teacher, Tony Grenek.
Speaking of sports
Have the Pirates turned a corner to success? Probably too early to tell, but it is making Buccoland a little more interesting.
The jury will still be out on the Steelers and most certainly the Pens.
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