CORNWALL, Ontario – Seaway News is proud to celebrate 31 years of telling the stories of the communities along the St. Lawrence Seaway and the stories of the people who live in them.
“September 1985 we published the first Seaway News (Seaway Shopping News) and the press has not stopped for 31 years,” said Rick Shaver, TC Media GM Cornwall Market. “We sure have come a long way since those very early days.”
“Our clients have been loyal and to them a special thank you,” Rick continued. “They are with us week after week, in paper, flyers or on one of our new web platforms. Our distribution company, DDDistribution, Doug Delage, does a great job and he and his team of over 50 inside workers and carriers do their best to get done every week on time. “Covering all of Cornwall, going east to Quebec border, north to 417 and west to Morrisburg, Cornwall Island 27 plus communities in 32 hours, well that’s delivery,” said Shaver. “Great team. Great effort.”
In 1985, the then Seaway Shopping News started coming into 26, 000 homes every week and today, that number has grown to 39, 000. Over these 31 years, that number amounts to over 1 million papers delivered by our carrier teams year-round, through all weathers.
With the advent of digital media, we now are with our readers not just at home in that paper on the kitchen table, but on their laptops, desktops at work, tablets and smartphones.
“Great staff has made this all possible,” said Rick. “The staff that has worked here have all brought a special talent, outlook and perspective to the industry and that has been good. We have grown with great columnists, we’ve worked with cartoonist (Provincial Newspaper Award winner) James Lapierre, local and regional contributors and a very efficient editorial department. Our office, production and sales staff all have had a big impact on the outcome of the past 31 years and my fellow co-founder Dick Aubry and I were very blessed to be able to work with them. Now, working in the TC Media family I am offered many more opportunities and resources to continue the journey of helping the greater Cornwall area with great ad specials and editorial content.”
Seaway News provides the community with a place to see their stories and their history as told by their neighbours. The columnists who have written for Seaway News over the years such as Nick Wolochatiuk, Sultan Jessa and Thom Racine are all community members.
“I can clearly recall the day I asked Rick Shaver if I could write a sports column in the Seaway News,” Thom Racine said. “The paper offered a perfect conduit for recalling our sports history and allowed for an immediate comment on a local hot topic within days of its occurrence. Seaway News has a legacy that will always be looked upon as a community supporter, getting the word out and championing our local charitable societies.”
“Wow! Where does the time go,” exclaimed long-time Seaway News cartoonist James Lapierre, “It seems like only yesterday when became part of the Seaway News family in 1990; when I began my cartooning career at the young age of 13 years old. Now, as the Seaway News is about to celebrate 31 years in service, I should take this time to thank Rick Shaver for giving me an opportunity week after week to “get on the old soapbox” from time to time and provide a visual forum for the readers to (hopefully) enjoy. I would also like to congratulate Rick as well as the many fine people working at “The News” (past and present) on achieving this milestone.”
Dances With Words columnist Nick Wolochatiuk reflected on the true joys of being a columnist with Seaway News.
“When the editor asked me, “What do you enjoy most about writing for the Seaway News?” Having the opportunity to meet strangers who become friends is priceless,” Wolochatiuk said. “Also, being allowed to express one’s opinions openly is a treasured right I have enjoyed. As a columnist, F-R-E-E-D-O-M cannot be a four-letter word. When asked, “What’s your favourite story?” My response is the same as my favourite photograph, place to visit and flight in an aircraft: I hope they are still to come,” he continued.
Over the years, the Seaway News has witnessed many milestones and there have been many changes to the way we print the news, but our commitment to the product has not changed.
“I feel as though I am still young but when I look back I realize I have witnessed a lot of very big changes in the newspaper industry,” said Production Coordinator Colleen Parette, who has been a part of the Seaway News team for 27 years. “The biggest change would definitely be the introduction of the ‘Information Super Highway” (or the internet young whipper snappers call it) was a real game changer. We got this thing called a modem and it made crazy noises when you had to ‘dial up’ to get online … seriously though, it changed how we did things at the paper. It gave us the ability to get more information for our readers and more access to graphics to design our products for our advertisers. We used to drive to the printer to deliver our pages (which were built on paper grid sheets) and now we just the click of a few keys our paper is uploaded to the printer and printed in a couple of hours.”
Technology has not been the only thing that has changed and grown at the Seaway News, but so have the people.
“Looking back, I have had the pleasure of sharing many wonderful life moments with my ‘work family,’” Colleen said. “We’ve shared joyous times with births and weddings and sadly we’ve shared deaths, too. I’ve watched my co-workers children grow up before my eyes—time moves very quickly. Rick used to bring his daughters in, two tiny blonde haired girls who would sit in the kitchen and have their tea (we would give them a sugar cube and a creamer). Last summer I had the honour to witness Kelli get married and now she is having a baby (okay, now I feel old). “
The close-knit teamwork at the Seaway News makes it a very supportive environment to work in, as Sales Coordinator Jennifer Mayer explained.
“We’ve had a great staff over the years and there is always someone making a joke, bringing in baked goods or doing something silly,” she said. “Someone is also always there to help amuse or keep an eye on your kids or pets when they are in the building, to push you out of the snow when you are stuck or even just to do a run to Tims.”
Jennifer has been with Seaway News for 30 years, almost since the beginning. Jennifer started with Seaway News February 26, 1987.
Rick Shaver agrees that it is community and family that make Seaway News special.
“Seaway News, now TC Media, is family and family has been with me for 31 years starting with my mom and wife Brenda’s never ending support , my daughters who have shared the office, to now my long term employees and the new ones I have just hired,” said Shaver with a huge smile. “Seaway News’ 31 years of publishing and there are still many more issues to read in the future, both print and online.”
Rick encourages our readers to contact us anytime because we enjoy talking to the members of our community while we work to produce your content in our paper.
