On Friday, our newsroom said goodbye to five staff members who took a buyout offer The News Tribune made to employees last month. We’d have preferred not to lose the decades of experience they brought to bear on our news report. And we will miss them as colleagues and friends.

But their farewell served as a poignant passing of the torch.

I asked each to tell us about the most meaningful story they worked on here. Their answers were less about a particular story and more about what it meant to them to be a journalist.

Casey Madison, our photo manager and picture editor since 1995, talked about the “Winter Whammy” storm that hit on Dec. 26, 1996, and killed 16 people. Casey was one of the few staff members able to make it to work that day.

“We worked 20-hour days doing everything that came at us,” Casey wrote. “Not to risk getting snowed in, we stayed at a hotel near the Tacoma Dome. It worked well since my home had no heat or water. It’s a great feeling reporting the news when readers most need information. I loved covering big news events and will miss that most.”

Bill Hutchens started in 1990 as a news assistant. He rose through the ranks as a reporter and wrote our video game column for several years.

For Bill, it was all about the people stories. He recalled spending a weekend in the woods with World War II re-enactors; writing about Lena Landry, head of the Puyallup tribal gaming commission; and a story about Maj. Jim DeLapp and his wife, Angie, who spent Christmas apart in Afghanistan and DuPont, respectively.

“It might sound silly to anyone whose focus in journalism is on hard news,” Bill wrote. “But I will always maintain that those stories about ordinary people living victorious lives are equally important.”

Mike Gilbert came to The News Tribune in 1987. He served as cops reporter, team leader, the schnoz behind The Nose column and military reporter.

“I did not fully appreciate the impact that our work has with our readers until I went to Iraq with the soldiers of Fort Lewis,” Mike wrote. “The readers at home were so hungry for any scrap of news about their people. They told me they took comfort in knowing that I was there – even if it was bad news I had to report. Most soldiers were grateful that someone was there to tell their stories. The responsibility was humbling.”

Susan Gordon came to work in Tacoma in 1983. She tackled many tough and important stories on the education and environment beats that won her state and national journalism awards. But that wasn’t what brought her the most joy.

“What has always gratified me most about being a newspaper reporter,” Susan wrote, “is the adventure of meeting people and going places I never would have otherwise. I hope readers have benefited from that special access. I know I have.”

Our last farewell Friday went to a TNT institution. Photographer Russ Carmack grew up in Tacoma and started work here in 1972. Readers are forever telling us about the time Russ took their picture or their child’s picture for the newspaper.

We asked Russ to put together a slide show of his work. (There’s a link to it from our home page, www.thenewstribune.com.) The pictures are historic, like the image of Ted Bundy’s mother in her Tacoma dining room talking on the phone to her son before he was executed. Many are from crime or accident scenes, where Russ photographed moments both tender and tragic. And his portraits could capture an emotion, like the bond between two people fighting cancer.

Russ also won a lot of awards, but Friday he expressed gratitude for all he learned while documenting life in this community for 36 years.

“When I go out and talk to college classes, I tell them I have four master’s degrees,” Russ said, “even though I never graduated from college.” Russ said he acquired at least that much education working alongside reporters asking questions on thousands of topics over the years.

We shed tears, told stories and shared laughs on Friday. None of the five said they were leaving because they don’t believe in the news business. For them, it’s time to take a break or try something new – teaching, retirement, going back to school.

They told us to carry on, and we will. We’ve already begun moving staffers to cover their important beats. And their words serve as precious reminders of why we do what we do.

Karen Peterson: 253-597-8434

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