Enjoying life on the job
Two things I learned during my induction into the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame last weekend.
One is that it takes a lot of people in your life to land you in such a spot.
Two is how much I enjoy what I do for a living.
From my father for introducing me to baseball at a young age, to my mother for encouraging me to do what I want for a career, to my siblings for joining me on the diamond, field or court — depending on the season — when we were kids to reinforce my love for sports, to my English teachers in high school, journalism and creative writing professors at Ohio University for enhancing my writing skills ... I could go on and on.
In fact, I think I will.
Tom Waller was the managing editor at the Herald-Star in Steubenville, Ohio — where I worked before coming to Butler — who convinced me to become more aggressive in pursuing stories on my own.
“When all you do is what you’re assigned, you’re letting someone else dictate the parameters of your career,” he said.
I haven’t forgotten those words.
Even in getting fired from my first full-time newspaper job after a year — through a misunderstanding — I learned to not take this career for granted. I saw first-hand how quickly it could all go away.
My wife, Darlene, has been with me for 39 of my 44 years in this business. The sacrifices she’s made so I could make my mark here are endless. I love her for it.
I’ve worked with numerous sports reporters during my 27 years at the Eagle. Two of them — Mike Kilroy and current Eagle sports staffer Derek Pyda — worked with me here more than 20 years. Their contributions, along with all of the others, have been vital to my success. I doubt they realize that.
There are numerous reasons why I love working as a sports journalist. For one, it’s sports, one of my biggest passions. For two, it’s the people I’ve met in sports. Mike Surkalo, George Mihalik, Matt Clement, Ralph McElhaney, Craig Lucas, Scott Stoner, Mike King, Jay Miranda ... I could fill this section if I continued ... are among the finest gentlemen I’ve ever come across.
Then there’s the moments. I love the sports moments. Slippery Rock University’s D.J. Flick catching a pass in the back of the end zone to beat Indiana in overtime, Butler’s Nate Snodgrass sinking a 3-pointer in overtime to beat North Allegheny in the playoffs, Butler’s Kaden Blatt scoring the first varsity points of his basketball career on Senior Night, Cole Baxter winning the Tornado’s first WPIAL wrestling title, Knoch football holding a riveting, intense post-game vigil in memory of Alex Summers, a cheerleader killed in an auto accident earlier that week ... again, I could go on and on.
I see or interview people about such moments almost every day I go to work.
I’m blessed to do what I do — and am forever grateful for it.
John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle
