Lucero: It's been good, Portales

The time has come, after years of contemplation, for me to venture away from my home in Portales to a new and far more hikeable land known as Colorado.

link Joshua Lucero

If it wasn’t for my experiences working for both the Clovis News Journal and the Portales News-Tribune, I don’t think I would have confidence or the expertise needed to take this next step in my life.

When I started freelancing for the Portales News-Tribune in 2010, I was what people would call a complete newbie to the world of newspapers.

I had been taking photos for a while at that point, but I was new to the editorial side of photography, having only shot sports and portraits for Eastern New Mexico University up until that point.

In my time as a freelancer I received priceless feedback from then-Managing Editor Rick White.

White managed to take me from a photographer with an artistic eye to a photographer who could shoot anything for any assignment, whether it was a homecoming football game, Curry County’s vector control getting stuck in the mud while combating Curry’s mosquito problems, or aerial photos of flooding in Clovis.

My ability to shoot news in addition to sports grew immensely because of the guidance I received from White, Tony Bullocks, and Kevin Wilson.

With the three of them giving me tips and critiquing both my work and theirs, I was able to learn the ins and outs of the career I want to pursue.

Thanks to Bullocks, Wilson, and White, I feel I have gained the experience I need to move forward and tackle the career in photojournalism that I have been dreaming of since I picked up my first camera.

When I was approached to come on board with Clovis Media Inc. as a staff writer and photographer in 2014, I was hesitant, not having any experience writing outside of my classes at ENMU.

Luckily, White was there to get me started in the right direction with writing and after a few stories, critiques, and rewrites I began to get the hang of writing.

When I was moved from the Clovis News Journal to the Portales News-Tribune staff I began to learn even more about what it takes to be a journalist.

In my time spent with the Portales community I learned everything from how to deal with public officials to reporting on murder trials.

The Portales community and its leaders made my time working at the paper both worthwhile and an experience that has shaped me as a person and a journalist.

Everyone I came in contact with through my job was helpful and patient and made me feel the work I am doing is important. I couldn’t ask for anything more than that.

The hardest part of leaving this job and town, however, will be saying good-bye to the best group of coworkers I have had in all of my years in the workforce.

When our Managing Editor Alisa Boswell started in January with former sports writer Derek Major, I felt I didn’t have much left to learn on the job.

Boswell and Major quickly showed me otherwise with a level of teamwork, organization, and communication I have never experienced at any other job.

Boswell is a leader unlike any other supervisor I have had and Major was able to communicate perspectives on issues that I had never considered before. They are the first coworkers I have ever had that made me feel like I belonged both on and off the clock.

After Derek moved away a new group of reporters was hired and with the help of Alisa, they are now a close-knit team capable of carrying the News-Tribune forward in its coverage of Portales life.

Every member of the Portales editorial staff is intelligent, friendly, and dedicated to the ethics of journalism.

I will miss every person I have worked with while an employee of CMI. Everyone in the company I have come in contact with has been friendly and welcoming, making it that much harder to say good-bye.

The experience I gained while working for CMI has given me the confidence to pursue my goals and take on new adventures.

I want to thank every one I have had the opportunity to meet during my time at the newspaper. Every person I have had the opportunity to meet while on the job has taught me so much about the world around me.

Thanks Portales. It’s been good.

Joshua Lucero is a staff writer for Portales News-Tribune. Contact him at: [email protected]