Valley Views
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Nineteen years ago a group of six journalists and entrepreneurs sat on a deck brainstorming ideas for a new, homegrown newspaper. I was one of those six people. So was my husband, Boone. So were Linda Sappington, Chuck Lewis and Bernie Azure. And of course, so was Jim Blow. It was his deck. It was his idea.
After the first issue of the Valley Journal was published a couple months later, we celebrated our vision turned reality with a pancake breakfast. It was a tradition that would stick. Following each week’s newspaper production and delivery, we’d eat pancakes and go home to sleep a few hours before starting all over again. I have to admit that to this day I never eat a pancake without thinking of Jim.
It is with a heavy heart that I learned Jim passed away recently. His son Eric shared via Facebook that Jim had been visiting him in Virginia when he fell ill and died several days later.
Jim was the first person to hire me as a journalist. He was also the first person to ask me to be a business partner. He took our engagement photos. Both he and Linda Sappington photographed our wedding. Jim’s impact on our lives was immense and his loss is felt deeply.
It was a lot of work starting up the Valley Journal. We worked crazy hours and we got to know each other well. What we soon discovered is that Jim never did anything halfway. He was steadfast, kind, incredibly talented and of course hardworking. Rita, his faithful yellow lab, was never far from his side. If Jim covered an event – there were always 20 plus incredible photos to choose from to publish. Jim’s passion for sports, photography and community journalism were evidenced weekly in the pages of the Valley Journal from its inception until he left for new adventures in the summer of 2010.
Though we’d lost touch over the years I’m so grateful to have known and worked with Jim. I hope that he’s reunited now with his beloved Rita and they’re enjoying all good things together – especially pancakes.
