Keith Lacey
As someone who grew up and thought they would spend their entire life in Ontario, the term Go West Young Man never meant much to me.
But I can tell you five years after accepting a job in Barrhead, Alberta, that my decision to head to western Canada has been one of the best moves I’ve ever made in my life.
They say time flies when you’re having fun and I truly can’t believe that it has been five years this month since I packed up my trusty Plymouth Saturn and made the long journey from Sudbury, Ont. to Alberta.
I filled that little car with my clothes, hockey equipment, golf clubs and impressive collection of CDs and headed west for the first time in my life.
After working for 20 years at a newspaper in my hometown of Sudbury, I honestly thought I would spend another 10 or 15 years there and settle into retirement.
But that all changed on June 6, 2007 when the publisher of that newspaper called me into his office and gave me the news that changes were being made, my job was being eliminated and I had 20 minutes to pack my things and hand over my key to the office.
Thankfully, I was offered a really nice severance package and wasn’t overly upset because I had worked my butt off for 20 straight years. I had a very clear conscience knowing the only reason they were letting me go was because I was earning a pretty decent salary – decent for the newspaper business anyway.
It didn’t take me long to rebound.
Realizing I could make some “real money” for the first time since working as a student in the nickel mines, I decided I would try and get another job as quickly as possible.
Two weeks later I got a job offer from the Timmins Daily Press and I accepted.
I took off the six weeks of holidays I had earned and then moved up to Timmins to start a new job as the night editor at the Timmins Daily Press.
The fact my former employer was paying me my full wages on top of my new salary meant I enjoyed true economic freedom for the first time in my 25-year career as a journalist.
I have to admit I didn’t enjoy living in Timmins. It’s a harsh and desolate place with bitter and nasty winters that last seven to eight months. It was a very long two years.
But I did love my job.
I got to cover city hall on top of being the night editor as well as some special assignments.
One of those assignments landed me a nomination for Business Story of the Year at the annual Ontario Newspaper Association Awards.
To my great surprise, I was called into the office in December of 2009 and told I was being laid off once again. My boss and publisher made it clear they loved my work, but the worst recession in 50 years was well underway and cuts had to be made.
I was very happy to be getting out of Timmins, but very bitter to be losing my job once again because I did nothing but great work for the Timmins Daily Press.
It was at this point in my life that I knew I needed a break from the newspaper business and decided I was going to collect Employment Insurance for the first and only time in my life.
I had earned that right.
I got my first job at age 14 picking tobacco in southern Ontario and held a job every single summer through high school and university and started my first newspaper job days after graduating with my journalism degree from Ryerson University.
After 25 years of working hard and climbing through the ranks from sports reporter to city reporter, senior reporter, associate editor and news editor, I looked forward to taking some time off.
I moved back into the house I still own and for nine months, I went to the gym, played hockey, squash or golf every single day.
I have to admit, I loved it.
But after several months off to get my proverbial stuff together, I knew it was time to get back to work and that I didn’t want to do anything else except to get back into a newsroom.
But the recession was still in full swing and jobs were not easy to come by.
I started applying for jobs across Ontario, but there were literally hundreds of unemployed journalists applying for a handful of jobs.
That’s when I made the conscious decision to consider moving west.
There were many more journalism jobs available and I wanted to get back to work.
I still remember heading out to play hockey on a cold Friday morning in Sudbury when I got a call from the publisher of the Barrhead Leader.
She told me she was impressed with my resume and she interviewed me over the phone for about an hour.
The next day she offered me the job.
The first week in April of 2010, I left my house, my friends, my family and my life in Sudbury and headed to Alberta.
I haven’t regretted it for one second.
I absolutely loved my job and the people I worked with in Barrhead.
Management with the company I worked with were impressed enough with my work over eight months that I was offered a publisher’s position at the Bonnyville Nouvelle.
The money was great and I figured after more than 25 years in the industry that I should tackle a new challenge.
I found out in a matter of months that being a publisher is a whole different ball of wax than being a reporter or editor.
Even though the paper remained very profitable and looked great, my boss and I agreed that my talents belonged in the newsroom, not the boardroom.
I was offered another job with the company, but decided to look at other job options on my own.
I applied for the editor’s job at the Osoyoos Times and longtime owner Chris Stodola thankfully offered me the job.
That was three-and-a-half years ago.
They have been the best three-and-a-half years of my life.
I’ve been blessed to move to this wonderful community and work at a job I truly love.
The fact the Osoyoos Times has been named the best community newspaper in British Columbia last year and best in all of Canada this year is something I’m very proud of and I thank the entire team that works here for all of their hard work and support.
Like so many others, I’ve also fallen in love with the Okanagan Valley.
People are wonderful, the weather is incredible, the scenery is spectacular, you don’t have to live life swatting away millions of mosquitoes and black flies and I’ve made many great friends through hockey and squash.
I’ve also met the most wonderful woman in the world and plan to spend the rest of my life with her.
Life is often a mysterious ride and we all have many memories once we reach a certain age and point in our life.
Things were pretty rough six years ago when I wondered about my future.
But this not so young man went west five years ago and his life changed for the better in a real hurry.
I still miss my friends and my family, but I’ve made many new friends and keep in regular touch with my family.
Moving west was the smartest move I’ve ever made.
And I’m never leaving.
Keith Lacey is the editor of the Osoyoos Times.
