Port Ludlow Voice editor retires

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The Port Ludlow Voice is to have a new voice shortly, as its managing editor moves on.

Bev and Bill Browne received a rousing send-off from their friends and neighbors June 9, as they prepare to relocate from Port Ludlow to Redmond.

The Brownes have lived in Port Ludlow for the past 17 years, ever since their retirement from Oregon State University (OSU). In April 2001, Bev Browne began working as a feature writer and reporter at the Port Ludlow Voice, which was started by Ralph Thomas in 1998.

“Ralph wanted to fill what he perceived as a gap in the ability of residents to get relevant information about events in Port Ludlow,” Browne said.

By the time Browne joined the staff, Thomas had been replaced by Barbara Wagner Jauregg as managing editor.

“I was not a journalist by training or profession,” said Browne, who has a background in education and earned her doctorate in educational psychology in1985. She also has an art degree and work experience as a graphic artist.

At OSU, Browne taught courses in psychology, learning and memory, as well as marketing, consumer and organizational behavior, and international marketing at the College of Business.

“I have an extensive publication record in both psychology and marketing, but again, no actual journalism experience,” Browne said. “My first assignment at the Voice was to write about drainage in Port Ludlow, an assignment I got because no one else would do it.”

LITTLE LOCAL ARTICLES

Browne was content to write “little local articles” until 2007, when Jauregg “threw in the towel,” appointing Browne and Kay Standish – another Port Ludlow resident and Voice writer – to take over for her. After about a year, Standish “found other things to do,” and Browne became the sole editor.

“It has been a learning experience, and I have enjoyed it, most of the time,” Browne said. “I think the publication has served the community well, and I am proud of what the staff and I have done with it. There will be changes, but I believe it is on a good trajectory.”

Browne touted the credentials of Caleb Summerfelt, a former design editor for The Olympian, who is stepping in as the new managing editor of the Voice.

“He’s more experienced than we’re used to getting at the Voice, and an awful lot younger,” Browne said. “He is also very active in volunteer organizations in Port Ludlow. None of us know how he does it all.”

In the meantime, Bev and Bill Browne are looking forward to settling into their new home, “a geezer ranch,” in Bev’s words, that offers a spectrum of options, from independent to assisted living.

“It was a huge decision,” Bev Browne said. “We considered staying in our current home and having people look in on us, but the more we heard about that option, the more it didn’t sound as good for us.”

ECLETIC POPULATION

Browne said she will miss the eclectic population of Port Ludlow, which she credits with making her job as a journalist more rewarding.

“As a reporter, Port Ludlow is an ideal place to be, because all kinds of people live here,” Browne said. “It’s a beautiful environment with a number of hugely interesting people, all concentrated together in the same place, and they’re all so convivial and interested in each other.”

Gil Skinner, president of the South Bay Community Association, complimented the Brownes, married 52 years, as “wonderful neighbors and friends,” not only praising Bev for her work on the Voice, but also commending Bill for serving as “the heart and soul” of Port Ludlow’s welcoming committee.

“He’s been the first one to greet so many residents as they’ve moved here, which only fits, because he and Bev are very welcoming people,” Skinner said.