New position, but with the same mission | News | kokomoperspective.com – Kokomo Perspective

Aug. 3 was the last day for a Kokomo Perspective graphic artist, so Martinos pizza was brought in for lunch.

That Tuesday was Keith Scircles last, but it was just my second day as KP editor. I slide a couple of pieces of the pepperoni and sausage on a paper plate.

Tell us your story, I was asked. The following is approximately what I said.

Im Jeff Kovaleski. I was editor of the Kokomo Tribune from May 2004 to March 2021. My wife of 34 years is a hospice nurse here in town.

My first full-time newspaper job was with The Shelbyville News in 1987. After a couple of years there as sports editor, I took a job as a copy editor at Wisconsins Kenosha News. There, our two children were born. Five years later, we moved to Marion, where I was city editor of the Chronicle-Tribune in neighboring Grant County.

We moved to Corning, New York, in 1999, where I was managing editor of The Leader. In 2002, the paper was named a Newspaper of Distinction by the New York State Associated Press Association.

Then we moved to Kokomo. This is our home for a few reasons.

One, our daughter, a graduate of Northwestern High School and IU Kokomo, teaches kindergarten at Northwestern Elementary. Shes married to a man whos married to the land. His family raises corn and beans, and has farmed land in Howard County since before the Civil War.

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Shes not going anywhere.

Two, Ive never lived anywhere longer than Ive lived here not even when I was a kid. My father was a teacher and football coach. We moved from Bourbon in Marshall County to New Castle in 1970. I was 7 years old. Eleven years later I graduated from New Castle Chrysler High School and left for IU Bloomington.

But theres another reason why I dont want to leave Howard County. Its the people.

Here, folks take care of their neighbors. They did when a tornado struck the city and county in November 2013. And again when another twister took a nearly identical path in August 2016.

And its not just the older people in town who look for ways to help others in need. Its the young people.

Over the last 17 years, Ive seen high school students from all five Howard County public high schools rally around classmates with cancer. Ive seen them organize in the hundreds to assist in tornado cleanups.

Truth is, my wife and I have never lived in a community where young people are so caring, so giving, so loving. Its a reflection of the culture here, rooted in the Golden Rule.

And as the next editor of the Kokomo Perspective, well continue to celebrate that culture of giving in the pages of your weekly newspaper.

Jeff Kovaleski is editor of the Kokomo Perspective. Contact him at editor@kokomoperspective.com

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New position, but with the same mission | News | kokomoperspective.com - Kokomo Perspective