Weaned on the Daily Herald, I still love the job and the people I work with

Some of my earliest and fondest memories are related to newspapering.

Biding my time while my dad dealt with one issue or another in the newsroom, I would paint my hand with a giant bottle of rubber cement with a brush applicator, layer after cold layer, until I had enough to form a Superball of sorts.

The stormy summer night when the power went out at press time, Dad and I went into the office so he could make adjustments to the next day's paper. Then we shared an ice cream cone at Cock Robin near Arlington Park racetrack just before closing.

I was allowed to draw pictures of hot rods with an endless array of colored markers from a staff artist during a weekend run to the Lake County bureau to handle this situation or that.

My father, of course, is Dan Baumann, who started working at the Herald as a reporter in 1962 when I was a toddler. The right man for the times, he would eventually become editor, then publisher and chairman of the board.

I'd never given much thought about what I wanted to do when I grew up until a guidance counselor at Prospect High School suggested I could find success as an engineer based on my math and science grades.

But like many teenagers, I changed course halfway through college and, given my interest in writing, figured I'd give journalism a shot.

I should have known that through osmosis I'd probably end up a newspaperman.

I took an unpaid internship at the Daily Herald in 1983 (I'm told I was worth every penny), then started with the Rockford Register Star in 1984 and after graduation answered the call when then-Daily Herald Editor Doug Ray told me he was desperate for a new police reporter.

My dad and I kept a professional distance throughout our overlapping years with the company - I sought my own path working in and then running bureaus, and I realized my passion was not just in words but managing people.

Through a lot of hard work, I have risen to the level of department head in my 37th year of employment here.

Hey, I was a late bloomer.

But how fortunate my life has been. What opportunities this newspaper has afforded me.

I've rubbed shoulders with important people. I've weighed in on important issues through the editorial board. Our work often changes things for the better. And as a steward of a community newspaper, that is my daily goal.

On a personal level, I've had opportunities to work with incredibly dedicated, talented people and see them flourish.

I might have had an earlier indoctrination to this place than most, but I'm certainly not alone in spending my entire career here.

There is something about working for a company that rewards good and hard work, innovation and a willingness to adapt - a company that values giving people chances to succeed, a company that promotes from within.

Further, it's a company that values goodness and integrity - and a deep caring for the people whose lives we cover.

I've had opportunities to move on, but I've never been short of opportunities to grow and do different things here.

I wouldn't want to go somewhere else and risk working for a place that didn't put the same value on its employees.

I can say the same for countless others.

Having grown up a child of the Daily Herald and for two-thirds of my life as an employee of it, I barely know anything else.

But I dare say I'm confident I haven't missed out.