Newspaper Gig

My gig at the Vegreville newspapers came at a time when I desperately needed it. I had just moved back home and well...I was broke. The job was a first-step in my university years paying off- but at the time i didn't see it as that.

I worked incredible hours, and put my entire soul into creating enjoyable stories/news/features for the readers- and I hope I did that!

I did, very much enjoy being able to write as much as I did, and take photos, and get the ins and outs on what was happening in and around town.

But, just as all things begin, they must end...

I had been looking for a PR/Marketing job and one finally arose- but not until October. I was interviewed in September, and didn't get word till over a month later that I had been selected for a job as PR/Marketing Manager for the Community & Industry Training Initiatives Department at Portage College.

My resignation at the paper came at a very difficult time, as the only other reporter at the paper had recently moved back to Ontario.

It is amazing how when things happen in your life you only see the bad...and that's what happened to me. When I worked at the paper I often found all of the wrong things about the job...- long hours, little pay, no thank-you's. Only now, after I've had time to think it over, do I actually see all of the many great things that I got to see/do/learn while at the paper.

They include, but are not limited to:

1.) Writing- I love to write, and when doing it I took that for granted because it came so easy to me.

2.) Photography- my second passion behind writing.

3.) The many people I met - I met an extraodinary number of incredible people, from business owners to 100-year olds, to horse trainers and town councillors.

4.) Growth- I learnt the many aspects of how a paper is created- an area which is already helping me in my career.

5.) The many readers - I had a large cohort of readers, who often picked up the paper every week to see what I had to say. That is an incredible feeling, to know that I did and have touched the lives of many, many people.

I have on many occasions since I've left the paper been told that I am dearly missed. Even a Town Councillor from Vegreville told me dad that, "I was the best reporter Vegreville has ever had!"

What an incredible compliment that is.

So, as I said in my closing letter the the great folks of Vegreville and area, I will say it on here as well.

Thank you, to everyone, for making my days as reporter for you so enjoyable, and thank-you for making me see that though some things are tough, and don't always seem good...there is always great things that come out of it!

The letter I wrote as my goodbye to the many readers of the Vegreville News Advertiser...

It’s been a blast!

Dear Editor,

I have spent the past ten months mingling with the great people of Vegreville and surrounding communities as a reporter for the News Advertiser and Vegreville Observer. It has been an amazing learning experience, and I wouldn’t change the last ten months for anything.

With that being said, with new experiences come new opportunities, and I have been given one. It is an opportunity I could not pass up.

I have been offered and accepted a position at Portage College in Lac La Biche as Promoter of Public Relations and Marketing for the Community and Industry Training Initiatives (CiTi) Department.

I have always wanted to further my career in Public Relations/Corporate Communications and so I am excited for this opportunity.

This letter is to thank the great staff I have worked with over the past 10 months, and the amazing readers who have come to me with their comments, concerns, story ideas and praise.

It has been an incredible journey.

Thank-you for making my job as reporter not feel like work. Thank you for making each day in the office or out and about such a blast.

Yours Sincerely,

Felicity Bergman