I originally retired from the Waco Tribune-Herald in 2005 after 10 years at the helm and nearly 30 years in the business.

At that point I never thought I’d ever have anything to do with a newspaper again — except to read one.

But my life changed last May 5 when local businessman Clifton Robinson called and asked me to advise him on purchasing the Trib, then for sale by the Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises.

Clifton, his son Gordon Robinson and I spent the next three months researching the Trib financials, forming an editorial plan and working on a purchase agreement with Cox.

A strong friendship formed during these long hours together. It was exciting being a part of something again after four years in retirement.

It was also amazing how much I missed the newspaper business during those four years.

As we neared the July 31 closing date to buy the Trib, it became apparent that I would be headed back to the Trib, at least temporarily, as publisher — but this time with a different charge.

My mission — spelled out clearly by the Robinsons — was to make the Trib the best community newspaper in the country.

It’s a mission, I thought, that would get anyone’s juices flowing.

The first day back on the job was surreal: Same office, same phone number, same furniture and a lot of the same people.

It was like I never left.

But this time, we were going to invest in the newspaper with the goal of making the reader number one.

We planned to buck the trend of newspapers in general these days by growing circulation, adding more pages of news content and, most importantly, increasing our staff size in the editorial department to seek out more news and information.

I would tell our folks in the Trib building almost daily that they will never have an opportunity like this again to excel in journalism.

The reason for this comes down to local ownership and to the Robinsons’ willingness to invest in the newspaper even during challenging economic times.

An old friend told me I was “loco” to get back into all this. But it’s easy when you have an absolute passion for the business and you have confidence that the owners are going to follow through on their commitment, invest in the product and put the money where it needs to go.

I have now spent almost eight rewarding months as interim publisher, but the time has come for me to go back out to pasture.

It has been a blast.

As I said to Trib employees recently, we have accomplished more in the past seven months than I could ever have imagined on our path to becoming a great newspaper — and one that serves its readers first.

That makes it harder for me to realize that the time has come to step down.

Now is the time for the Robinsons to hire a new publisher who will lead this newspaper into the future.

But I’m proud to say that we’ve got a good start on our goal to make this the best community newspaper in the country.

This column serves as my swan song, and I have some thanks that I’d like to pass along to some special people.

First, I must thank the Robinsons for the opportunity they gave me to come out of retirement and the trust they instilled in me to work at the Trib again.

It has been an immense privilege.

Next, I want to thank all the Trib employees who put their trust in me and in Robinson Media.

As I have said over and over again: The employees at the Trib — and our community overall— hit a home run with the new ownership and their driving philosophy of wanting excellence in their newspaper.

And as Clifton has said so many times before, and with a passion that reflects his devotion to this community: We put the reader first, and this commitment to the reader has become a permanent part of our culture in a very short but exciting time.

Now that I have officially re-retired, I can say with confidence that the only thing I’ll have to do with a newspaper again is to read one.

But I’ve said that before. — 30 —

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