35 cents
VOL. 4/ISSUE 28
THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2016
In tribute to Theodore ‘Ted’ Wilson
I
t’s an honor and privilege to pay tribute to Theodore “Ted” Wilson, a partner in Your Voice News & Views and publisher of Veteran Voice, having worked with him for more than two years. He passed away on April 28 after a valiant fight against cancer. He was more than just a boss. An accountant by profession, Ted called himself a “numbers cruncher,” but he had many talents. Together with his colleagues Sharon Elkins and Steve Erlanger, he took the plunge into publishing — and excelled. Your Voice News & Views (and later Veteran Voice) came to life in a time when print media was going into decline. But the idea behind it proved to be pure gold — a hyper-local weekly newspaper targeted to meet the unique needs of particular communities. Arriving directly into thousands of mailboxes, our newspapers give readers a wealth of information they can only find in our pages — county and city council decisions, health and safety alerts and the best places to eat and be entertained, among so much more. For advertisers, our newspapers provide a guaranteed market. Many of them rely on us exclusively — virtually all will tell you advertising with us brings great results. Many readers tell us they count on the ads to help them make their buying decisions. This was the vision Ted shared with Sharon and Steve — which included Veteran Voice. Sharon’s husband is a Marine Corps veteran, and it didn’t need much persuasion to convince Ted that a “niche” publication just for veterans would serve an important role in getting out military-related information. Veteran Voice became a labor of love. Ted hired me at a low point in my life — my husband had passed away only two months previously. A lifelong journalist, I had no experience in marketing — the “other half” of my job — but Ted took a chance on me. From the beginning, Ted made it a job about which can truly be said: “You mean, I actually get paid to do this?” He was patient and kind, and encouraged me
See TED TRIBUTE page 6
Photo courtesy of the Wilson family Veteran Voice founding publisher Ted Wilson completed the rigorous Ride Across America, taking him from the Pacific to Atlantic oceans when in his 60s. Following a cycling tradition, he’s pictured holding up his bicycle after a first-accomplishment ride. Wilson recently died of cancer-related complications.