Michael also requested some assistance loading the van the day before (June 24th) at 3:00 pm. Please reach out to Michael if you can help out for a few minutes.
Mark Metevia introduced today’s speaker Denny Dressman, who is one of our newest members. Denny worked for the Rocky Mountain News for 25 years. His career was mostly writing and editing, but for his last 10 years he handled Human Resources and Labor Relations for 1,250 employees, which meant working with 8 different unions. Denny reports that 1 year before the joint operating agreement between The Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News, the two papers had combined circulation of 770,000. Today, the Denver Post’s circulation is under 100,000.
The Denver Post was an afternoon paper until the early 1980s. The fierce competition between the two papers heated up when The Post switched to morning delivery. That competition impacted Denny since it led to parity negotiations between union workers at both papers. Denny hasn’t ever subscribed to the Post, even after all this time, since he doesn’t want to be disloyal to the Rocky Mountain News.
Denny spoke about the many things that have impacted the newspaper business. The internet is one of the largest of course, and he feels newspapers first tried to adapt the internet to their business, rather than the other way around, which cost them some opportunity. The largest economic impact to the paper industry was the lost of classified ad revenue. Classifieds were much more profitable to the paper than traditional 1/4 or 1/2 page ads. The Rocky normally sold more than 4 million classified ads per year, which was the main source of revenue for papers. Today, the Post has less than two pages of classified ads each day. The largest expense item for papers is the paper and newsprint. Surprisingly, materials cost more than labor or any other line item. Denny thinks newspapers in small towns will continue and thrive, since they provide a very local connection, but in bigger cities papers will be challenged to survive. The Rocky Mountain News closed in 2009. Denny says the paper wasn’t profitable in most years - he estimates that 23 or 24 of his 25 years they were subsidized to survive.
Rocky Mountain News FINAL EDITION 2/27/09
Denny took questions on free speech and newsworthiness. He pointed out that The Rocky printed only 10% of the letters to the editor they received, so there was the possibility of a form censorship, or at least bias, in the decisions they made about which letters were printed and therefore were the only ones that were read.
Drawing - Dr. Robert Finkelmeier made the rounds with bedpan and cups in hand. $30 was in the pot, and the 8 of clubs was the key to claiming it.
DRAWING
Dr. Robert Finkelmeier made the rounds with bedpan and cups in hand. $30 was in the pot, and the 8 of clubs was the key to claiming it.
Styrofoam cups of cash went to:
Kent Gloor
Dick Nickoloff
Larry Pulaski
Denny Dressman
Paul Stratton
Phil Perington
Faced with no other options, Al Gapuzan and Karl Geil used their winning tickets for a chance at the pot, but both fell short. In the words of Ron Cisco: Close, but no cigar!
Name tag
The first name drawn for the name tag drawing was Dave Peck, who at the moment his name was called was in the process of ducking out of the meeting a little early, and narrowly avoided having his name tag off. But alas, he had no luck pulling a card for the $30. So the pot thickens…
The recitation of the Optimist Creed for today’s meeting was led by Bob Avery. Promise Yourself, to be so strong, that NOTHING can disturb your peace of mind…
HUMOR FROM STEVE KADY
With the city still riding high after the Nuggets “Beat the Heat” and triumphed in the NBA finals, plus yesterday’s parade celebration, Don Roth and Frank Ross arrived early to warmly greet the men of Monaco South on this Friday morning, June 16th, 2023. Thanks Don and Frank!
Invocation -
Michae
l Chavez announced that we will once again be staffing a hydration center for Bike MS on Sunday, June 25 at Westview Middle School in Longmont. Arrival time is 6:30 am and everything likely will be complete by 2:30 pm. Bike MS is the largest fundraising cycling series in the world. Each year, nearly 50,000 cyclists and more than 5,000 teams ride together to change the world for people with MS.
Joe
Marci lets us know that due to a rainout, there will be a Jr. Golf Tournament this coming Monday the 19th at 8:00 am at Flatirons in Boulder. This is a boys tournament and if you want to see some impressive golf play, consider helping out. If you are interested, please let Joe know. He is available to give a ride up to Boulder also.
Commander Tom Yagley too
k to the microphone and said thanks to the club for supporting the American Legion’s Hamburger Nights, which are Wednesdays from 5:00 - 7:00 pm. He said the Legion is looking into ways to partner with us on several projects, including the Tree Lot. He also invited us to the Fathers" Day activties, including Sunday Breakfast.
Phil Perington put in a plug for the raffle. Ticket sales are well underway! 164 tickets have been purchased already - many thanks for those who have. Plenty of time to purchase more (or to make your first purchase)!
