A tribute to Dennis

The job I have currently is not an enviable one. I want to pay tribute to a really particular and extended-time mate by the identify of Dr. C. Dennis Schick. For 25 many years (1979-2004), Dennis was executive director of the Arkansas Press Affiliation, and he assisted me in my vocation extra than any other human currently being on the encounter of the earth. He died on Monday, Dec. 7, 2020, and still left a legacy that will be honored and revered for a lot of several years to appear. I will constantly be grateful to him.

Dennis came to our point out push affiliation soon after training comprehensive time for 15 years at three main universities: the University of Texas, Southern Illinois University and Texas Christian College. He attained a bachelor of arts in journalism and English from TCU a master’s degree in marketing and advertising from the College of Illinois and a doctorate in mass communications and promoting from SIU.

Dennis and his spouse Jan were being a crew and worked side by aspect for all people many years, handling a staff members, getting an once-a-year State Push Conference, putting out a weekly e-newsletter and taking treatment of the desires for far more than 120 newspapers across the point out. A single of the matters he will always be remembered for is going the association business from a smaller household on Broadway in Very little Rock, to their present spot at 411 Victory, only four blocks from our state Capitol. This existing building was significant more than enough to fulfill their desires and have rental money as effectively.

It was his character to assist individuals, and the two of us strike it off again in 1995, quickly just after I begun my weekly column. As an affiliate member, I gained the once-a-year listing that contained all the information and facts about member newspapers. This directory aided me in creating contacts and getting me acquainted with several other point out push administrators. Every single point out had a directory, and I would use this idea to speak to papers in other states. In time, the list of papers running my column would mature to additional than 375 papers in 35 states.

Dennis was a wonderful family guy, possessing three small children, and was extremely lively in his church, which includes singing in the choir. Each individual Sunday morning he could be found lifting his voice to the Lord. Just after his retirement we would stay good friends, and quite normally I would drive from Conway to Small Rock and take him to lunch. He was also most practical when I launched the Conway Bookcase Venture in 2005. For the initially a few yrs, just before we begun the yearly Bookcase Literacy Banquet to increase the dollars for constructing elements, we arrived up with an plan to publish a guide of my columns, provide the guide and use the cash to establish bookcases.

When we resolved to do this, Dennis secured the help of 12 award-successful journalists from all throughout the country to read through the more than 350 columns that I experienced composed at this time and pick out all those to go in the guide. The strategy worked, and we lifted the funds to build 50 bookcases every year to assist pre-faculty youngsters in very low-profits family members. Later on, when we commenced acquiring our yearly Awards Ceremony to current the bookcases at the Faulkner County Library, Dennis arrived a single 12 months to be our guest speaker. He would also create the Preface for my future e-book.

I may well incorporate the notion to publish the e-book came from a different push director good friend, Carolyn Wilson from Mississippi. I would under no circumstances have recognised Carolyn had it not been for Dennis. You can see now why I desired to pay back tribute to him. He was a exceptional person who always went the extra mile, and I will constantly be grateful to him. We require additional Dennis Schicks in this world.