The mother of all editors

There is no valid argument that mothers aren't the most selfless people on Earth. There's the endless laundry, the cooking, the organizing. "I try to make your life easier," my wife likes to say to our girls. There's also the emotional support, the right words at the right time, the guidance, the gentleness. But often there is a practicality to mom's help. This is where two of our favorite two proofreaders come into play. Each week I find time to write in this space, I send my mom a text following a couple of self-edits. "I have a column if you could please read," I say. Inevitably, within 24 hours I have an edited column that is always better after a careful eye. My favorite part, it's accompanied by an encouraging text message about my writing or whatever subject I'm tackling. I wonder what she'll say about this column… A retired journalist, my mom knows her way around the English language, and is the perfect antidote to my tendency to leave words out, to use too many words or say the same word too many times. The Courier Sports Editor Zach Baker also has a little help from his mom. A 17-year teacher at Keystone High School in LaGrange, just like my mom, she also holds the distinction of being a published columnist. During Zach's senior year at Bowling Green State University, he sarcastically suggested the editors' parents could write columns for the weekend. They took him seriously, and students across the campus gained the perspective of Zach's mom. Safe to say, like my mom, she has the chops to help. During the 2020 pandemic, local sports editors were seeking content because, uh, there were no sports. So Zach wrote a column about the Cleveland Browns' new uniforms, and his mom took notice. "In the version that made the paper — there was a "where" instead of "wear," Zach said. The self-editing sports editor was quickly assisted by a mother who raised her hand to volunteer. Now, there isn't a sports story penned by Zach that doesn't get emailed back home. Being that she lives in Lorain County, Zach's mom doesn't know the athletes and coaches involved in the local sports scene, but she knows how to make writing better. "At first I was really sensitive about her comments, but got over it when I realized if she had questions, I hadn't done a good enough job," he said. Ahead of this upcoming Mother's Day, here's to the problem solvers, the chauffeurs, the caretakers, the study partners, the IT technicians. And, yes, the editors. So what exactly is a mother's role? "Now, there's an extra level of security when hitting "publish,"' Zach said. Providing security? Yeah, that's a pretty good definition of what a mother does. Jeremy Speer is the publisher of The Courier, Findlay, the Sandusky Register, The Advertiser-Tribune, Tiffin, the Norwalk Reflector and Review Times, Fostoria. He can be reached at jeremyspeer@thecourier.com.