Over the past eighteen months,The Hill & Lake Press has made significant and lasting changes, not just to the paper but to the non-profit organization that publishes it.
Under editor Craig Wilson’s leadership and a team of dedicated volunteers, the new and improved Hill & Lake Press arrives to deliver in-depth reporting on local issues, engaging content from new writers and photographers and scrupulous fact-checking and editing. These efforts signal a new era for our 45-year-old community-led newspaper.
While these changes are visible each month, what is less obvious is the behind the scenes work that has placed Hill & Lake Press on a firm financial footing with solid governance. Community volunteer Bill Payne has been essential to that process.
A retired corporate attorney, Bill is an active volunteer at 80-years-old. Some of you may know Bill from his work at Thomas Lowry Park. There you are likely to encounter Bill and his wife, Suzanne, toiling away tidying garden beds and moving garden hoses around during droughts. For the past twenty years, they have been de facto caretakers of the park, employing their expert knowledge, hard labor and dedication to create an urban oasis.
In Spring 2022, Bill reached out to Hill & Lake Press, offering to act as a legal advisor to the newspaper. Bringing much needed skills, Bill laid out a plan and timeline for the reorganization of the Hill & Lake Press under new leadership. Bill’s volunteer services included preparing an abundance of corporate documents for state and federal filing in order to establish a new tax-exempt corporation.
Most people’s eyes would quickly glaze over at the discussion of taxes, accrual accounting, details of new bylaws and corporate resolutions, but not Bill. A tireless, detail-driven guru, Bill helped guide the organization through a critical transition. Few would have the stamina or the knowledge to move Hill & Lake Press from one corporation to another.
Hill & Lake Press, Inc. became fully operational in December 2022. It is now responsible for all aspects of the publishing and distribution of this community newspaper. Certainly, this could not have been done as quickly and seamlessly over the past year without the unstinting investment of time, energy and experience of one of our valued community volunteer, Bill Payne.
Bill recognized his expertise in gardening, law and finance would be valuable to others. As he put it: “In my case, volunteering provided an opportunity to give back to the neighborhood.”
He also noted the many benefits volunteering brings to the volunteer, like improved mental and physical well-being: “Volunteering is essential to the community, providing services that money alone can't buy.”
Win Rockwell, Hill & Lake Press Board Chair commented, “Because of Bill’s extraordinary efforts, Hill & Lake Press is positioned for lasting success. That matters for an advertising- and donor-supported newspaper when most community newspapers have gone out of business.”
Bill has moved on from the paper, but he’s still a contributor to our larger community. Undoubtedly, he’s now hard at work putting the gardens to bed for the winter at Thomas Lowry Park. Thanks, Bill.
