‘Hello’ to the Y-K Delta, and I need your help

Matt Nevala

May 23, 2008 at 8:30AM AKST

I’ve been entertaining and informing readers and telling people’s stories for as long as I can remember. In a lot of ways, it’s all I’ve ever done and I take the responsibility seriously.

With that, welcome me as your Tundra Drums news editor and one of the latest additions to the Alaska Newspapers Inc. newsroom.

Some of you diehard Alaska sports fans may recognize my name from my decade spent as an Anchorage Daily News sports reporter. I arrived in Alaska in late 1995 and joined the Daily News staff shortly after, covering everything from high school sports to sports fishing to Alaska Aces hockey.

In fact, I ended my time in the Daily News sports department shortly after the Aces won the state’s second professional national championship in early summer 2006. I spent the next two years combining my love of journalism and education as the Daily News’ educational services coordinator.

If any students you know attended the Alaska State Spelling Bee in Anchorage in either 2007 or 2008, I was responsible for managing the events.

I started working in newspapers as a teenager in the late 1980s back in my hometown of Kalamazoo, Mich. At the time, I couldn’t believe someone would give me a paycheck to follow local sports and write things about them. While my reporting resume hasn’t taken me out of the sports world too often, I’m not afraid to tackle topics important to you — the readers.

Above all else, I’m thrilled with the prospect of learning all I can about Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta communities and cooperating with you to make The Drums everything you want it to be.

My wife, Kristen, is a teacher at Anchorage’s Dimond High. We’re going to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary in July. Sure, that’s a thrilling event, but not the only one to come down the pike of late.

We welcomed Moira, our second daughter, to the family March 26. Maggie, our first child, is pumped to be a big sister and recently took in quite the haul from her “princess” birthday party in the new West-side Anchorage home we recently moved into. She turned 4 on May 11.

After making sure my wife and children are safe and happy, I live life in rather simple terms. Any day the Chicago Cubs win a baseball game is a good one. Any day they lose? Well, they’ll play again real soon.

I try to stay active playing hockey and softball in season and I’ll get in as many rounds of golf during the summer as the weather allows.

As I stated earlier, my professional mission is to make The Tundra Drums and all the Alaska Newspapers Inc. publications whatever it is you want them to be. It doesn’t matter if the subjects are important or silly in nature, I can’t wait to hear about and share them with our readers.

That’s where all of you come in. I’ll strive to fill the newspaper with pertinent, timely information. But I need your help. Send me anything and everything you got, and I’ll work to get the ideas, the stories and the pictures in The Tundra Drums.

I’m available Monday through Friday by phone at (800) 770-9830, ext. 480, or any time by e-mail at mnevala@alaskanewspapers.com or drums@alaskanews
papers.com.

I’m excited to be here at Alaska Newspapers Inc. and genuinely look forward to providing a weekly dose of information and entertainment to everyone in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region.