Virtual clapout for 5 BJ exits

 

BY BETTY LIN-FISHER

Yesterday, the virtual Beacon newsroom kept the clapout tradition alive. We had a virtual clapout for five of our colleagues who took the recent Gannett buyout:

 

Bob Dyer,

, Yuvonne Bruce Webb

, Kim Drezdon, Malcom Abram and Scott Babbo.

 

We will miss all of their expertise and companionship! While we couldn't gather in person, we had a virtual "Clap Out." The picture credit goes to Bob Dyer, who used a setting in the virtual meeting that seats participants in auditorium chairs

 

Good luck to everyone!

 

(There were also probably other ABJ alumni who took the buyout since it was companywide. One I know of is

Steve Berta

, who posted about it on his Facebook page and took the buyout from the Indy Star.)

 

(Picture IDs since I know former journalists will ask - Top from left, Stephanie Warsmith, Mike Shearer, Betty Lin-Fisher, Bob Dyer, (2nd row from top from left): Jim Mackinnon, Cheryl Powell, April Helms, (3rd row from bottom from left): Emily Mills, Joe Thomas, Jennifer Pignolet, Kerry Clawson, (2nd row from the bottom from left) Scott Babbo, Scot Fagerstrom, Darrin Werbeck, (front row from left) Dan Kadar and Doug Livingston). There were more people on the call, but they may not have had their cameras on, so they didn't get put into an auditorium chair.)

 

BY YUVONNE BRUCE-WEBB

 

 

 

BY STEVE BERTA

I cleaned out my desk at an eerily quiet IndyStar office yesterday, completing my last day at the place that defined my career in journalism.

I accepted Gannett's buyout offer, so for now I'm taking it easy and jumping into the kitchen remodeling project we've been putting off.

COVID, and working from home, made my last day surreal. The parking garage was so empty that, when I closed my car door, it sounded like a major explosion echoing across a mountain range.

It was a strange ending, but par for the course in 2020 I guess. There was a great Zoom sendoff last night for those of us who were leaving. I'm grateful for all the kind words.

Now, I guess, it's on to new adventures, starting with that kitchen.