Duck Ponderings: Transitions in life and in newspapers

My daughter, Haley, presented a book to me, “Life Is In The Transitions-Mastering Change At Any Age.” It is an excellent book, filled with supportive research by the author, Mark Feiler. He gathered 225 life stories from a variety of people in all fifty states. A former Hope resident, Pastor Warren Kirk, always stresses the importance of telling our story.

The author mentions William James, the father of modern psychology, who stated, “Life is in the transitions.”

Mr. Feiler goes on to state, “We can't ignore these central times of life; we can't wish or will them away. We have to accept them, name them, mark them, share them, and eventually convert them into a new and vital fuel for remaking our life stories.”

Since being with The Hope Star-Journal and HSJ Online for 11 years now after retiring from being a Hope Elementary fifth grade teacher for 36 years, the importance of stories and a community newspaper has become quite the passion for me as well as our team. The Hope community has an abundance of wonderful stories. We can't possibly share them all, but it is our hope that the ones we do somehow make many connections. It is also our hope that the stories somehow help our community thrive. We are quite fortunate to have several outstanding writers helping us share stories.

Recently, we had our HSJ Online Concert Benefit at WILLow LeaVes, and we wish to express our sincere appreciation of the donations before, during, and after the event. That evening, we highlighted points for 2021:

• Foundation: For several years, we discussed establishing a HSJ Foundation, and it is now a reality through Scott Mings of Raymond James, a Hauser graduate and our Financial Consultant since 2015, with a total of $18,000 already in the fund. (With a 5% foundation growth, $20,000 would generate $1,000; $40,000 would generate $2,000; ...)
• Video: With a HCFR Endowment Grant and expertise of Hauser graduate Daniel Anderson, we were able to share our Google stat significant improvements from 2019-2020 in a unique way.
• Run/Walk: With the leadership of Todd Grimes, avid runner and freelance writer for HSJ, and partnership with the Hope Town Council, FRHC Schools, Hope Police Department, and town businesses, we had a successful event with 47 participants. (Several sponsors made it even more profitable, and we returned part of the proceeds to the Hauser Athletic Department.)
• Corn Dog Stand: A community member expressed a desire to build upon our HSJ General Budget with his fabulous corn dogs at Heritage Days, a hit for many hungry people and HSJ.
• Mums: In partnering with Duck Creek Gardens again, we sold a record number of beautiful mums, 264, compared to 201 last year.
• Coffee: WILLow LeaVes contacted us wishing to give beverage proceeds sold at their new coffee spot to us in November. (Each month, they will select a not-for-profit organization.)

We have transitioned from a physical newspaper to a digital one even though physical copies can be located at the Hope Library and WILLow LeaVes. What will HSJ Online look like in the future? We can't be sure; technology is changing so quickly. But we are sure that there will always be stories to be shared, and know our team will strive to make sure Hope always has a news site for those stories!

If wishing to make a contribution toward the HSJ Online General Budget or the newly formed HSJ Online Foundation, it can be sent to Stephanie Shoaf, Businees Coordinator, at P.O. Box 21, Hope, Indiana 47246 or through our electronic option here. For more information, please feel free to discuss with a team member.