What a handsome crew!
Here is the group photo taken at the Sun Sports Reunion at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas, July 20-21. Photo courtesy Gil Hulse, and taken by either Jean Leyva, Gayle Pollard or Cathy Bui.
From left, top: Cindy Robinson, Mike Terry, Gil Hulse, Jim Schulte, Mike Davis, Steve Dilbeck, Nick Leyva.
Bottom, from left: Nate Ryan, Doug Padilla, Leah Reiter, Paul Oberjuerge, Chuck Hickey, Albert Bui.
Below, the T-shirt — back on the left, front right:
It really was a great time. I’m glad so many former co-workers were able to make it. And looking at the photo again prompted some free-associating.
At first, I noted how we just sort of assumed the “pre-match soccer team” pose … and then I was struck by a more serious thought:
I worked with everyone in that photo, but we all never worked at the same place at the same time … and those 13 people could put out a hell of a sports section. Just a kick-ass section. From every perspective — writing, reporting, editing, layout, web stuff. Sure, we’re “old,” comparatively speaking, but there is still a lot of life in that group. We would be winning prizes all the time for a big suburban or a small metro.
So if anyone wants to make a group offer, and offers to let us hire a couple of clerks … I can be reached here and will forward the terms to the rest of the crew.
On a more serious note … every single person involved said they would like to do it again … and we’ll see if we can make that happen, in a year or two, and get some of the guys and girls who wished they could come but couldn’t make it.
3 responses so far ↓
1 Emily S. // Jul 28, 2008 at 5:06 PM
Looks like a lot of fun – and yes, lots of faces missing.
You look great, by the way. And I don’t recall you ever dressing up that much for work!
2 Richard Kimball // Jul 29, 2008 at 4:06 PM
Wow, I see more faces in the photo that I re3cognize than I would if I walked into The Sun newsroom.
3 Chuck Hickey // Jul 29, 2008 at 10:33 PM
I worked with everyone in that group with one exception, and I’m quite certain I would have learned a lot had I worked with him, just as I learned a lot from everyone else.
I agree, there is some serious talent in there. Still. And, yeah, if that group was putting out a section today, it’d be serious kick-ass.
As you wrote in the wrap-up of the get-together, it worked quite well for many years. I don’t know exactly how to pinpoint how it all did despite the age discrepancies and the different idiosyncrasies, but it did. I think at its core, it was because we all had mutual respect for what everyone could do.
And it extended beyond the workplace. For the most part, we all genuinely liked each other and liked hanging out and doing things with each other beyond the 3:30-12 shifts. And it sort of built a bond among all of us. And even after all these years, it’s like we picked up like it was 1998 again like nothing had changed.
Sure, I’ve been to bigger places since I left, done bigger things. But I’ve never had more fun working, felt more satisfaction and pride in a product or been closer to and had more respect for coworkers than during my combined 12-odd years at 399 North D St. And I miss it. And I can’t wait for the next get-together.
Leave a Comment