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Published on: 12/9/2000
Last Visited: 3/25/2001
Gail Simmons
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A seasoned journalist , Gail Simmons knows the difference a word can make.That's because she spent eight years as managing editor for a weekly newspaper.I learned the hard way that you have to get it right , Gail says , that putting in an ‘and' instead of an ‘or' can change the total meaning and the context of what is being said..
Gail is the first to admit that proofreading for Associated's clients is more detailed than her work at the Rose Hill Reporter.Besides making sure copy is grammatically correct , punctuated properly and conforms to the A.P. Stylebook , Gail must be familiar with clients' trademarks , products and services.
She simply loves working with words.In high school , Gail served on the Wichita Heights newspaper staff and received her first byline writing concert reviews for a music store.At 20 , she moved to Colorado and took journalism classes , working as a landscaper by day , a waitress at night.When her classmates were writing about safe topics , Gail chose to interview exotic male dancers.They appalled me , she says , and I wanted to ask the dancers if their mothers knew what they were doing for a living!.
Her goal was to become an accomplished writer by age 30 , but Gail exceeded that by becoming an editor at 27.A new mother , she juggled her son , camera , and pen and pad as she covered city council meetings , and football and basketball games. ( She's also an award-winning photographer. ) Gail was responsible for producing 51 newspapers a year , six to eight pages each , approximately 10 , 000 words a week , running essentially a one-person operation , on call 24/7.
Years later , on press day , Gail almost gave birth to her daughter in the newsroom.It was more than five weeks before the anticipated event.Even so , she was determined to get the newspaper out on time.At the hospital in between contractions , Gail talked to her publisher over the phone , telling him where to place stories.
The toughest story Gail covered was a school board's attempt to pass a bond for a new high school.It got very controversial , and caused a lot of division and dissention , Gail recalls.The board formed a site council , promoted the bond more positively , and eventually the bond passed.This was just one occasion when Gail's role as editor allowed her to watch a community come together for a worthy cause , something she found particularly rewarding.
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