2 weeks Ago By Mike Wolcott
I sometimes wonder if organizations in these parts are really desperate for guest speakers. Otherwise, why in the world would people keep asking me?In any case, I’m glad they do. It gives me a lot of opportunities to meet the people that matter the most to any editor: our readers.
I got to do it again Tuesday, thanks to the Chico chapter of National Active and Retired Federal Employees. It was the second time I had the privilege of being their speaker — making them one of the few groups that must have been really desperate for a speaker twice, I guess — and once again, it was a fantastic experience.(At least it was for me.
You’d have to ask the audience what they thought of the speaker.)This group, as a whole, may have been among the most loyal readers I’ve met to date. One by one, members told me things they enjoyed most about our paper — and after a few minutes, it occurred to me they had mentioned every single reporter on our staff.
From Molly Myers’ “Postcards from Israel” series last summer to Jake Hutchison’s “Scam of the Week” and every dedicated reporter and project in-between, I was ecstatic to hear the praise directed toward our combined efforts.Heck, it was almost enough to make me forget the time somebody called me a communist and a Nazi on Facebook last week. (Or was it basement-dwelling libtard? I catch from the fringes of all sides in pretty equal amounts, so it’s easy to lose track.
)Anyway, call me one proud papa. I left that get-together — at the Kalico Kitchen, and I dare you to find a better breakfast — rejuvenated and ready for more.So now, if you’ll please bear with me while I brag for a few more paragraphs, I’d like to note that the Enterprise-Record is rapidly approaching yet another milestone in our 171-year history.
On Tuesday, May 13, the E-R will host our 50th annual Sports Hall of Fame and Senior Athletes Banquet.Let me repeat. That’s 50.
The big 5-0. Which is fitting, because the original “Hawaii 5-0” was actually still on TV at the time this banquet was founded.Fifty years? That is some rare air, yet here we are.
In an era where too many towns have been left without a newspaper, the oldest business in Chico (that’s us) is still sponsoring what has to be one of the longest-running sports banquets in the country.For one night a year, athletes from a dozen local high schools — the top-performing boys and girls at each — have gathered under one roof not as rivals, but as peers. A representative from each school — and this year we’re making it 13 with the addition of CORE Butte — gets to announce their Athlete of the Year winners.
Chico State and Butte College participate as well.Our committee also honors entrants into the Chico Sports Hall of Fame each year along with a Sportsperson of the Year. The honorees get plaques (and dinner on us), and around 400 well-wishers come out to celebrate their accomplishments at Manzanita Place.
It’s so much more than a banquet. This is an event that actually forms its own community for one night every year while celebrating multiple generations of local sports greatness. Dozens of Hall of Famers keep coming back, enthralling today’s young athletes with stories of past years while delivering many well-earned words of wisdom.
Family and friends of the Hall of Fame inductees attend from all over the country.And, in maybe my favorite part, athletes that have spent years competing as fierce rivals in the various arenas join together as one proud group, celebrating their united success — with the booming voice of master of ceremonies Abe Baily always keeping the action moving along nicely.All because your local newspaper keeps right on having a banquet.
Tell me one single Facebook group or TikTok channel that does that for your community.It’s also a good reason to keep supporting the Enterprise-Record. No wonder I never get tired of talking about it.
Mike Wolcott is the editor of the Enterprise-Record. He can be reached at [email protected] — and yes, he’ll be happy to help you with banquet tickets.
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