Some people welcome change with open arms while others dread it like a pending apocalypse. I would be the first to admit that, even if it were a voluntary change, I would fall in the group that dreads change rather than in the group that welcomes it.
So, it would not surprise those who know me to find out that I greeted the news of the pending sale of The Marysville Globe and Arlington Times with a good deal of trepidation.
I prefer working for small, family-owned community newspapers which is one of the reasons I chose to work for The Marysville Globe and The Arlington Times more than seven years ago. Working for a locally owned community newspaper does have some drawbacks (mostly economic), but it also has a number of benefits most notably that the owners live and work in the community served by the newspaper. I, initially, was not too impressed with the thought of working for a company which owns more than 30 publications and that is headquartered more than 40 miles away.
Former owners Kris Passey and his wife Catherine, and their partners Bob and Debi Marshall, were great caretakers of the community newspapers they owned. Their commitment to journalistic excellence is evidenced by the many, many awards bestowed upon the papers in the past 10 years. Their commitment to the communities served by those publications also deserves mention and they deserve our thanks for their efforts on behalf of the newspapers and the communities they serve.
When Manfred Tempelmayr, president of Sound Publishing Inc., The Globe and The Times new owner and Washingtons largest publisher of community newspapers, came to the offices of The Marysville Globe on Aug. 10, I still needed to be convinced that this change was a good thing (or at least not a bad thing). And what I heard throughout the day reassured me that this would not be a bad thing.
First, therell be no staffing changes. The front office people, reporters, graphic designers, sales representatives and others that readers and customers have come to know, trust and work with will remain on staff to continue providing the excellent service to which weve become accustomed.
Also, he pointed out that while some administrative functions are centered at the Poulsbo headquarters, Sound Publishing allows each community newspaper a high degree of local control. Who knows better the needs, wants and expectations of a community than those who live and work there?
Then there is the economics of scale there are a number of things that Sound Publishing can offer due to its size and resources that werent possible before. These changes can improve the newspapers and the service we provide to the communities.
Over the next few months there will be more changes some will be noticeable to our readers and customers and some wont. The one thing that definitely wont change is the commitment by the staffs of The Marysville Globe and The Arlington Times to journalistic excellence and providing the best service possible to the communities we call home.

Scott Frank
Managing Editor

To contact a member of The Marysville Globe/Arlington Times editorial board Kris Passey or Scott Frank e-mail forum@premier1.net.