This is the last Buzz column I will write for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Best to rip off a bandage all at once, right? I figured I should just get the point out of the way and apply some linguistic salve over the forthcoming column inches.
Partly to spare at least one colleague from being laid off, I have accepted voluntary separation from the paper and will be moving on.
Ever since March 1, 2001, when I walked into the newsroom of the plucky Honolulu Star-Bulletin — it was two weeks away from its launch as a newspaper separate from the Honolulu Advertiser — I have felt lucky.
I was lucky to be able to continue a career in Hawaii media that began in 1979, up to that time spent primarily in broadcasting. I was lucky to write about media companies, the automotive industry and local businesses small and large. I was lucky to tell stories of their victories and growth, as well as to tell, as gently as possible, the sad stories of their closures, sometimes after generations of serving the islands.
Some really great editors guided me along the way, and for them I am grateful.
During those years, a passion arose for writing about chefs, restaurants and the broader food-service industry, which gave me the opportunity to participate in the launch of “Crave” about a year and a half ago. Talk about lucky!
It has been the best assignment of my print career, in large part due to the leadership of editor Betty Shimabukuro and her wealth of food and cooking knowledge and expertise as a journalist.
A friend once observed that some people eat to live, while others live to eat. “Crave” is perfect for the latter demographic, of which I am a member.
Chefs and restaurateurs granted me the kind of access I could only have dreamed of, which allowed me to share with you their passions, their inspirations, their visions and their stories of mentoring the next generation of culinary professionals.
Along the way I got to taste indescribably beautiful and delicious food. Even the less-fancy food was delicious. I could never be a restaurant critic, because as a character on the TV show “Cheers” said long ago, “Food is my favorite.”
Many newsmakers across many industries have public-relations people behind the scenes helping to get them ink, time on TV and the like.
Journalists don’t always see everything a PR person pitches as newsworthy, but sometimes, the PR person we turned down yesterday becomes crucial to a story the next day.
I have had the pleasure of working with a cadre of PR professionals across Hawaii who have provided stories and images to the benefit of this column. If you are one of them, you know who you are. Please also know that I am grateful for your facilitation and assistance. Very often, that help was rendered under the loaded pistol that is deadline pressure.
None of it would have meant a whit, were it not for readers who made “TheBuzz” a part of their routine. It started as a daily column in the early-aughts, in the Star-Bulletin business section, and over the years went to five, and then three days a week, with Friday’s space devoted to “Buy Local,” about made-in-Hawaii products and the people who made them.
Your feedback, whether a request for more information about a small businesses, chef or restaurant, or just a comment about how much you enjoyed reading about a product, learning about a restaurant, or seeing a delicious-looking food picture, also made me feel lucky. Grateful, too.
My new career is beginning at Harris Agency, which has created a subsidiary specializing in all aspects of food and beverage marketing called Food Gurus Hawaii. It will be all about promoting made-in-Hawaii food products, and is a logical extension of the work I’ve done in this space.
It is my sincere hope that you will continue to support the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and quality journalism in the state of Hawaii, and that you will continue to read “Crave.” I will do the same.
I found this quote by “Winnie-the-Pooh” author A. A. Milne, and it speaks to this occasion as well as to many other times in my life: “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”
Follow Erika Engle on Twitter at @erikaengle.
