The often-seen-about-town Georgia Shore is retiring as general manager of the Sun.
This is not the kind of upbeat, fun news that readers have come to expect from Hobnobbing. If you feel a pang in your heart, read no more until you compose yourself.
The decision for Georgia to depart was not rash. “I have been thinking about this for the past four or five years,” the vibrant brunette told me, with a wicked smile.
After 15 years of selling and managing advertising and overseeing operations of the local weekly newspaper, she is closing the door on one chapter of her life.
And I am so sad.
Georgia did a lot for me. She was responsible for the concept of this column. Said she, in an impromptu interview, “The people in this community are so caring and so giving, I wanted them to be acknowledged.”
Her vision was for something that focused on nonprofits and the community members who support them. The column mixes it up with social news.
Georgia bestowed upon me the opportunity to spread my writing wings and to be able to meet all kinds of amazing, interesting people (you know who you are), and to go to all kinds of places (well, not all kinds). She enabled me to expand my horizons.
As regular column readers know, Hobnobbing does focus on nonprofit events, except on those rare, compelling occasions when wandering astray from the mission is warranted. And, as regular readers also know, the people in this community are exactly as Georgia perceives them: giving, caring, kind and generous.
To mark the occasion, about 50 colleagues and friends turned up for her retirement party on Friday evening, Jan. 29, at the Santa Maria Elks Lodge 1538.
Big aside here—Friday nights at the Elks Lodge are a wonder to behold: great food and a band that plays while you whoop it up on the dance floor.
Hordes of people (we are talking hundreds) stand in line to choose the kind of meat or fish they wish to barbeque themselves on the Elks’ behemoth grill in the official grilling shed, with its own bar—a veritable temple to barbecuers everywhere—adjacent to the dining room. Choices were rib-eye steak, New York steak, ribs, chicken, swordfish, salmon, and chicken. Items are priced according to market value.
There is another line for baked potatoes, french fries, salad, salsa, and sundries like olives, garbanzo beans, and salad toppings.
Was this fun? You betcha. Lucky for me, the paper’s publisher, SLO-based Bob Rucker, recognized a grilling rookie when he saw one and cooked my rib-eye steak while I watched.
It was also fun to meet some staff from New Times (the Sun’s sister paper in San Luis Obispo) and to connect with colleagues from the Sun.
Georgia let a tear or two slip when she made farewell remarks.
Writer, journalist, and playwright Diana Balay came to celebrate her friend’s lifestyle change, as did Dr. Peter Garcia, Pat Haley, and Karen Cordary. Will and Leigh Shore Collier were not so sad—they know they will be seeing a lot of Mom, no matter what she does or where she goes.
As Georgia shuts the Sun’s door behind her, I say, “Ciao, amiga, don’t be a stranger.”
If you want to hobnob with Helen, you may contact her at helenthom232@yahoo.com.
This article appears in Feb 4-11, 2016.