My Sunday column

Former Daily Citizen editor Mark Pace has been eating a lot of cake in recent days. Pace, who was underpaid and overworked here from 1945 until 1982, turned 95 on Saturday.
The day before he was served a lunch in his honor at the offices of The Daily Citizen — virtually the House that Mark Built — and on Saturday he had another tasty dessert served to him by the League of Women Voters.
Don’t be surprised if he eats light on Sunday.
Mark was also honored by the city with a proclamation making June 20, 2009 Mark Pace Day. The document cited his long years of service, his “passion for faith, family, community and journalism,” and his excellent example as a “role model.”
Many of you know Mark and realize what a lasting impact he has made on this community. I joked earlier about him being underpaid for years, but the truth is Mark could have made a lot more money by leaving Dalton for more lucrative territories all those years ago.
But his love for this town and its people wouldn’t let him do it. He chose to stay and raise a fine family here. More than 60 years later, we all still benefit from the day the Florida boy packed his bags and moved north.
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I am furious that the knuckleheads downtown sponsored a beer tasting festival on Saturday. What were they thinking? How insulting!
How dare they do something like this on a day I have to work.
Most of the proceeds from the festival will go to the Keeping Kids First program.
Of course, the sponsors of the event, the Downtown Dalton Devel-opment Authority, are taking some heat from the usual sources.
They’re setting a bad example for young people.
They are encouraging alcoholism.
They are unleashing hordes of drunk drivers on the roads.
For the record, young people should be taught that consuming alcohol is a personal choice and with it comes certain responsibilities, not the least of which is to obey prohibitions against drunk driving.
Drunk drivers should be arrested.
Young people should be taught that most adults drink reasonably, obeying the pertinent laws and not letting the desire to drink get the best of them. They should also know that some people don’t handle this freedom well and with that decision can come legal and personal woes.
Taking this message to young people will be a lot more effective than turning a bottle of beer into the bogeyman.
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The next issue of Dalton Magazine should hit the streets in a couple of weeks. With this issue Jamie Jones takes over as editor, a role I filled for approximately two years.
Frankly, I can use the extra time. Between overseeing The Daily Citizen, several special sections and three other magazines (Catoosa Life, Mountain Life and Calhoun Magazine) I was getting a little stressed. As much as I enjoyed being the editor of Dalton Magazine, since taking over from its founder, Terry Connor, there is only so much time in a day.
Jamie Jones is good choice for editor. He’s a lifelong Daltonian and knows the area and its people well. That’s a huge plus.
Jamie is also a good worker and smart fellow. He can be reached at 706-272-7723 and he’d appreciate any story ideas or other suggestions.
Dalton Magazine has been a success story for us.
Terry Connor got it off the ground in good form over four years ago and it has been well supported by the business community. At a time when many newspaper companies were retrenching, we’ve been able to take the Dalton Magazine model into other communities and have found success there as well.
My time as editor was well spent. No matter how much you love the business, there are times when putting out a daily newspaper seems like drudgery. By the time an issue comes out you are already working on the next.
Dalton Magazine is produced in a more leisurely fashion and I actually had time to sit down with each new issue and read it slowly, for pure enjoyment.
Sweet!

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