This week marks one year in print since I took ownership of The Cordova Times. What a year it has been! Fifty-two issues. Breaking news, debating tough issues, and celebrating the good things in life and who we are – like record salmon returns, new babies born, and beloved community events. The past year at The Cordova Times has been a blur of new team members, new partnerships, learning curves, and plenty of questions. We have been going to print – every week – for the past year and I have two key takeaways to share with our readers.
The first is that taking on this challenge and continuing this 109-year-old newspaper’s legacy for another year was not easy, but it would not have been possible without the team that makes up The Cordova Times. This team is working hard to deliver the news that matters most to Prince William Sound, and most of them are behind the scenes. You may not know their names, but they put great heart into this work. Hence, I want to name the incredible leaders on this team (past and present over the past 12 months): Natalie Rademacher, Grace Schultz, Camille Botello, Janell Kallander, Elin Johnson, Margie Bauman, Dick Shellhorn, Kinsey Brown, Penny Johnson, Amanda Williams, Jacob Ranney, Bryan Mills, Abby Bourgeois, and countless contributors, advertisers, and partners. My mom and auntie, Patti Kallander, and Tammy Allen, have even delivered papers to storefronts when we were in a pinch! This is a community paper, after all. This first (for our team) anniversary goes out to you. Cheers!
The second takeaway I have to share with you, dear readers, is more of a reflection. I was looking back on my first message in the Times as the incoming owner and publisher that was printed last summer. In that message I acknowledged the significance of this new role to me personally as someone who was raised in Cordova, but also the opportunity to continue this important institution of record. I also acknowledged the fact that to succeed in this transition, we needed the community to support The Cordova Times. That call to action was not only answered, but exceeded my expectations. The newspaper would not be thriving without strong supportive advertisers, partners, contributors, subscribers, and paper sales in the storefronts. Thank you for showing up for The Cordova Times in all of the many ways that you did. It was an honor to see, feel, and experience, and I remain committed to showing up for Cordova, always.
Since 1914, The Cordova Timeshas documented, shed light, and bore witness to who we were and are as the community of Cordova – and, by extension, who we are throughout the Prince William Sound region and the state of Alaska. I am proud of the strong legacy the Timeshas built, and I’m excited to honor that legacy while building upon it. We look forward to collaboration across the other communities served by the Times, with the certainty that some of the best work of the paper is yet to come. Together, we can ensure that the Times continues to document and bear witness to who we will be – now and into the future. I encourage you to engage with the Times, no matter if you count yourself part of the Cordovan community, the Prince William Sound region or simply care about the issues we cover – from fisheries to politics to daily life and beyond.
Thank you, readers and supporters, for showing up for The Cordova Times for the past 52 weeks and issues. We will continue to show up for you, and our inboxes are always open. See you on Main Street, the docks, and the pages of the next 52 issues! We are grateful to you all.
Rachel Kallander was raised in a commercial fishing family in Cordova and graduated from CHS. Rachel is a professional consultant and coach in strategic advocacy and human capital at Kallander & Associates, owner and publisher of The Cordova Times, and founder and executive director of Arctic Encounter – the largest Arctic policy and business meeting in North America with international events worldwide. Rachel also serves as the Honorary Consul of Iceland to Alaska. She lives with her husband, Casey Pape, and two toddlers in Anchorage and regularly travels to her hometown, Cordova.
