Ten years is an accomplishment no matter what the endeavor. It shows grit, determination, insight and a receptive audience. It shows maybe, just maybe, you’re doing something right.
Having been at the editorial helm here for seven of those ten years, (around 1,800 issues and counting) I like to think we’ve done right by this terrific industry and you, the consumers of our product have reciprocated certainly with your readership and advertising, but with much more than that. You have helped shape us, guide us and mentor us into being an honest reflection of a growingly diverse and sometimes tumultuous marketplace.
At trade shows, we never get tired of hearing the same refrain, “I read you guys every day.” It renews our commitment to keep up our vigilance, our dedication to providing our readers with the information they need
We have chronicled not just the comings and goings of the major carriers and towercos and the FCC, but the personal journeys like the exploits of Ron Bizick and his army of co-workers. In 2020 the Tarpon Towers team rented trailers, filled them with supplies of water, food and generators and drove into the heart of darkness that was a ravaged Louisiana following Hurricane Laura. (“Good Deeds in Bad Times”).
The personal toll for the industry, sadly, rings almost a dozen times per year in the fatalities suffered at tower sites and it is our duty and obligation to report it. Just recently, I put the final touches on a story about a young man who left behind a wife and two small children. He had a side business as a photographer, so I got on his website and was moved by the life moments he captured with his lens. It only served to reinforce how we try to see the faces behind the steel girders and turf wars and zoning battles and fiber deployment that is the lifeblood of our industry. (“Services Held For Fallen Tower Climber in Ohio”)
Yes, we monitor, we report, we cover, we filter and, in the end, curate what we think is the most relevant and useful news that helps you keep moving forward.
I have the privilege of working with the “Algonquin Round Table” of veteran journalists in covering this market: Leslie Stimson, Sharpe Smith and John Celentano. Their insights are as energizing as the depth of their knowledge about the market. I come away from every editorial meeting a more knowledgeable person than when I went in.
Two unsung heroines of our editorial efforts are my trustworthy and beloved “stringers,” Anne Lannak and Keara Piekanski, both of whom have been steady contributors for us for well over five years. Anne brings a puckish, bemused attitude to the well-read “Zoning & Moaning” stories I assign to her (with a penchant for clever headlines) while Keara, sporting an MBA from Villanova, can handle any subject with aplomb. How will the blockchain affect smart city development? No problem for that one.
One of my fondest memories came a year ago while enjoying the camaraderie and good ol’ boy fellowship of playing in the foursome of friend Alex Beiro as he presided over the Virginia Wireless Association Golf outing as its affable and dedicated President. Three months later, through bleary eyes, I was writing his obituary. Since then, I’ve tried to savor every day. Shortly afterward, I bought a new car. I never had one with a sunroof…I’m too cheap. Now, when that sun comes down on my face through the solar portal of my cherry red KIA Niro, I think of Alex and thank him for the life lesson.
Thank you for being with us and shaping us over these past ten years.
By Jim Fryer, Inside Towers Managing Editor
Reader Interactions