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CityAndStatePA .com
October 2021
EDITOR’S NOTE
Editor-in-chief
JARED GRUENWALD
JENNY DEHUFF
A FEW PEOPLE who helped shape my early career are no longer around anymore, and I’ll never be able to repay my debts to them. One person stands out to me. He was my first mentor and desk mate at The Bulletin – the second iteration of the old Philadelphia Evening Bulletin – the largest circulation newspaper in the city for nearly 100 years. His name was Jim McCaffrey, a big, soft-hearted, pony-tailed spiritualist who gave me great advice on how to navigate the city’s murky political waters as a cub reporter fresh out of college and new on the Philadelphia scene. McCaffrey, who I affectionately called, “Caff,” showed me how to cut through the crap of frequently handed out press releases and go for the real story. He taught me so much in such a short time that I never felt like I got to thank him fully. He passed away seven years ago this past August. He was 59. It’s willful, open and straight-shooting people like Caff that we need more of in life. A good mentoring relationship is a two-way street: It relies on the mentee showing interest, paying attention, asking questions, giving feedback and showing improvement. The person giving the advice has to have enthusiasm, empathy, a good attitude, an interest in their mentee and a belief in their mentee’s ability to grow, to learn and to develop. We’ve seen a lot of the opposite of that lately in cities like mine, where riding your dirt bike or ATV down the middle of a sidewalk or city street is more the type of thing that’s glamorized and celebrated. And when the lukewarm response to behaviors like this from some of our elected officials amounts to C’est la vie, it doesn’t inspire much hope for the future. The people named in our Fifty Over 50 list are featured here for a good reason: They have been inspirations to others, cornerstones of their communities and catalysts for change. They know about resilience, responsibility, integrity, critical thinking, and having a clear vision and a strong voice. Unlike our previous lists, this one is not ranked, and those who are named were either nominated or carefully selected by our editorial board. Also within this issue, we feature Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward, the first woman to hold the position in the General Assembly’s 244year history. She opens up about her party’s petition for an audit of last year’s general election, how she handles the arguments surrounding child sex abuse survisors as well as her battle with breast cancer. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so don’t forget to tell a woman in your life you appreciate her – especially if she led you to your own path of success.
