Hello and welcome back to Tyson’s Thoughts!
In this week’s edition I will be responding to the Port Hardy Lions’ Club’s letter to the editor where they ripped me for writing an article (or was it the editorial? Maybe it was both) about the issues between the club and the group of pickleball players who are/were using the Civic Centre before COVID-19 hit and shut everything down.
To be completely honest, I don’t really have too much to say about the letter to the editor.
I’ve had far worse things said about me than what their letter expressed, so I actually thought the Lions were being fairly kind, all things considered.
I have nothing against the Lions, nor do I have anything against anyone here in the North Island, life’s too short to hold grudges.
To put it bluntly, I’ve been doing this job for almost five years now and I’m used to feeling the heat from constantly being in the middle of the proverbial frying pan that is community journalism (I hope I used the word proverbial correctly).
I did have a quick laugh at their line saying I was acting like a super hero for basically doing my job as a journalist (I’m literally paid to write about all the things that go on in the North Island, warts and all) but other than that, I think in the end we can all just agree to disagree and go our separate ways.
I understand where the Lions are coming from, I understand where the pickleball players are coming from, and I hope they both understand where I’m coming from.
To be Frank, which is better than being Tyson, you can’t please everybody, so it’s best to just write your truth and stick to it. With that in mind, I’ll end this editorial by saying this:
Thank you Lions’ Club members for your constructive criticism regarding my article/editorial on the usage of the Civic Centre. I appreciate the feedback that you offered and wish you all the best in resolving the issues with the pickleballers.
And in case you’re wondering, if I actually could be a super hero, I think I’d like to be Clark Kent/Superman. That way I could brag that I’m the man of steel.
Tyson Whitney is an award-winning journalist who was born and raised in Port Hardy. His family has lived in Port Hardy for more than 40 years. He graduated with a degree in writing from Vancouver Island University in 2008. Email: editor@northislandgazette.com
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editor@northislandgazette.com
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