A little help from our friends

Should you come into the Chronicle office at any point during a week day, you’re likely to see one of, if not all, of our full-time staff members. You’ll see Jeanne greeting you. You’ll see Esther quietly working on her assignments for the week. You’ll see Jason staying out of view of whoever came in while he determines who it is. You’ll even see Jerry from time to time, if he isn’t in his office.
What you won’t see, however, are the other people who make the Custer County Chronicle—and Southern Hills Publishing, for that matter—what it is. Well, you might see them if you come in at the right time. The point is, these members of our staff are part-timers who don’t report to the office frequently, but are just as vital to the operation of our company as anybody that’s there all the time.
You’ve undoubtedly all seen Carl, our roving photographer, who we send out everywhere to take photographs. Carl has a fascinating story—among his past jobs is an anti-submarine warfare subject matter expert for Lockheed Martin. Carl came to us years ago, sending us unsolicited photos of town activities while telling us he loves photography. Now, it’s not unusual to see multiple photos of his in every issue. Carl rarely turns down anything we ask him to do, and takes wonderful photos for which he has won awards. Occasionally, Jason forgets to put his photo credit on them. Sorry about that, Carl. With our small staff spread thin, he truly is a livesaver, and allows us a wider breadth of coverage than we would be able to have without him.
Then there is Laura, our freelance writer who is also a professional photographer. Laura, like Carl, came to us, asking if we’d be interested in her helping with Down Country Roads magazine. We accepted her offer, and now we count on her to write not only for the magazine, but occasionally for the Chronicle (how about those columns?) as well as serve as another great photographer. We believe our photography—once a weakness of the Chronicle, is now as good as any newspaper in the state. Laura and Carl are a huge part of that.
Laura also rarely turns any ask down, and usually only does so if she is ranching, working for her photography business, volunteering at Battle Creek Fire Department or doing one of the other myriad things she does so well. We once called her while she was churning her own butter. True story.
We can’t forget our trusty and affable driver, Paul, who delivers our newspapers on Wednesday as well as driving to all points delivering our other publications. His lovely wife, Jean, now also works for us, as the world’s best collator. Don’t you dare call her a stuffer!
We can’t forget Kate, our salesperson extraordinaire who now does a great job from Florida, Nathan Steele, who still pitches in from California, or Deb McLain who makes our magazines so beautiful.
It’s truly a team effort bringing you your Chronicle on a  weekly basis. And we believe we have the best team going.