16 Wednesday, October 10, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon The people behind The Nugget ... Lisa May knew she had some big shoes to fill when she took her new position at The Nugget. For 18 years, Teresa Mahnken had been the first person folks saw as they came into the newspaper office, and she managed the office with a sure and steady hand. The public and the staff alike loved her. May stepped into the role two-and-half-months ago, and has already made it her own. She manages classified advertising, coordinates the inserts that go into the paper each week, handles subscriptions and the events and announcement sections of the newspaper. She also acts as a kind of traffic con- troller, guiding those who interact with the paper to the right person to help them. She also does some design work to back up the two staff designers. The opportunity to work at The Nugget arose at a moment of transition for May, as her twins were just getting set to leave for college. “Jess (Draper) told me about it and it was perfect timing,” May said. “I was looking for a full-time job.” Finding engaging work in her hometown was a boon. “I didn’t even look for a job in Sisters because I didn’t think I’d find a job that would be a good match,” she said. But after interviewing with The Nugget staff, she knew it would, in fact, be a good match. Draper said she thought of May for the job because of her “diverse qualifications, amazing attention to detail — and patience.” Draper, who manages production, said that May has “far exceeded” her expectations. May and her family moved to Central Oregon from Portland in 2002. They initially wanted to live in Sisters, but instead found a house in Tumalo. The schools here pulled them toward the west. “By 2005, it was ‘this is where are kids are going to school whether we live there or not,’” she recalled. After four years as inter- district transfers, the family moved to Sisters in 2009. In all, four May children went through Sisters schools. School and church connected May with the Sisters commu- nity — and she’s found that working at The Nugget has Lisa May provided a whole new set of connections. “There’s a whole segment of Sisters that I’ve never met, that I read about in The Nugget and now I meet them on a weekly basis,” she said. May was a weekly reader of The Nugget, even when she lived in Tumalo, and like many parents, enjoyed see- ing her kids make the paper for their grades or in a feature story. Freelancer Kit Tosello did a profile on one of her daughters. “That was a big deal,” she said. “We cut it out for the scrapbook.” Now that she’s involved on a daily basis, she has a new appreciation for the role of the paper, and she enjoys being part of it. “I never really thought about how important The Nugget is to the people in the community,” she said. “It’s a connecting thing for the community.” She appreciates the sym- biotic relationship created by a free, ad-supported paper: the businesses that adver- tise make the paper possible, and the readers, in turn sup- port the businesses with their trade. “I guess I never thought PHOTO BY JESS DRAPER Lisa May has stepped into a critical post at The Nugget —and made it her own, with skill, attention to detail and a welcoming smile. about who’s paying for this free Nugget we get every week,” she said. The work is challeng- ing, especially on Monday’s deadline, when everything happens at once. “You never get bored,” she said. “You don’t have a chance to get bored, because you have to move on to the next thing.” In just two-and-a-half- months, May has taken a complex and critical job and put her own stamp on it, fill- ing a challenging role and adding her own skills and capabilities to the mix. “I thought it was going to be very difficult — almost impossible — to find the right person for that position,” said editor Jim Cornelius. “Turns out, Jess had the right person right there in the wings, and the timing was just right for her to take it on. Not only is she a quick learner and she’s really good at everything she does, she’s a great fit with the rest of the crew. We got very, very lucky to be able to bring Lisa on board.” THANK YOU to all our readers who have let us know how much they enjoy reading The Nugget. We are honored by your appreciation and support! The Nugget You, too, can help The Nugget continue its journalistic mission... Readers like you can join our loyal advertisers in bringing The Nugget to Sisters — for free — every week! Thank you for supporting us! Make a fi nancial contribution to keep professional community journalism thriving in Sisters... ܂ $50/year Supporting Subscription ܂ $100/year Sustaining Subscription ܂ $________ Other Contribution Three easy ways to support community journalism: • Complete the form below and mail today • Call 541-549-9941 and pay by credit card • Go to NuggetNews.com to contribute online Name __________________________________________________________________ Address _________________ City ______________ State ____ Zip _________ Visit NuggetNews.com, stop by the offi ce at 442 E. Main Ave. (Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri), call us at 541-549-9941, or drop a check in the mail. Phone ______________ Email ___________________________________________ ܂ Check enclosed ܂ Please charge my credit card Visa/MasterCard __________________________ Exp. __ /__ Security Code ___ Mail to: The Nugget, PO Box 698, Sisters, OR 97759 PHOTO BY GARY MILLER