Why did you go into your profession, start your own business or change your career midstream? These are the questions the Snohomish County Business Journal wants answered in this new regular feature, “Turning Point.” Below, journal staff members have offered their own turning points. In the future, this space is reserved for the business community at large. Have a turning point you’d like to share? E-mail them to hilden@heraldnet.com. They should be no longer than 150 words. Please include an electronic image to run alongside.
Gary Hauff,
SCBJ General Manager
Having grown up around small businesses as a kid, there was never a question in my mind that I enjoyed the business environment. I got involved with DECA and Washington Business Week, and over the years, I seemed to have gravitated toward sales — selling everything from garden seeds to health insurance. After working for several family-owned businesses and owning a couple of my own, I really didn’t know that you could have the best of both worlds until now. Being GM of the SCBJ, I have been afforded the luxury of operating and selling for my own business without the need for any personal financial investment. Sales management is wonderful!
John Wolcott,
SCBJ Editor
Studying journalism at Michigan State University, I discovered my fascination of newspapers while writing for the campus paper. Since then, my 42 years of writing have included public relations work as an information officer at Paine Field, for the city of Palo Alto and the Snohomish County PUD. But for most of my career, I’ve written for newspapers — the Sunnyvale Standard, San Jose Mercury News, The Herald (as business editor for 12 years) and the Snohomish County Business Journal (as founding editor since 1998), as well as 11 years in full-time free-lancing for newspapers and other markets. I still love writing for newspapers.
Jason Cahoon,
SCBJ Account Executive
Without question, I had no idea I would be heavily engaged in the marketing and advertising industry, especially working with a publication I’ve always loved to read. I was 28 years old when my “turning point” began — when I totally fell in love with Desiree, my wife. Starting over from a successful career in the recording and touring industry that began at the tender age of 14 was tough, to say the least. However, I wasn’t alone, for every time I fell down trying, Desiree was always there helping me up with kind words of encouragement, reassuring me to go on. What can I say? I’m several years older and enjoying the success of a second career. Hey, I could have been on a stage somewhere in Lizard Lick, Iowa.
Kimberly Hilden,
SCBJ Assistant Editor
My journey into journalism didn’t begin with a major epiphany but a series of small realizations that began turning up while I was a teenager. I had always been entranced by the way the written word, when carefully chosen, could be both powerful and precise and could engage the reader on a cerebral as well as emotional level. Add to that the fact that I’m naturally inquisitive (some would say nosy) and it was a no-brainer. When the time came to choose a college, I selected the University of Missouri-Columbia for its famed Missouri School of
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