Opinion - Silver Helmet: Years of dedication recognized

Jerry Jones, editor of the Gazette, was recently awarded the Silver Helmet Award. It was given by the Washington State Football Coaches Association for his continued, dedicated service to rural county high school football coverage.

It is a fitting recognition. Jerry has covered Whitman County high school sports since 1965. He can be seen on the sidelines, looking for the photos that describe the game, show the action and, as important, give as many kids as possible a chance for a published picture.

This award is for his coverage of football.

Jerry also covers all high school sports with the same dedication. He is courtside, trackside, matside and poolside.

Jerry’s hours are long. Jerry missed the awards banquet in Bellevue. He was covering a local basketball game.

His real contribution, however, is that he takes the kids and their efforts seriously and treats them with respect.

Jerry is always gracious even when irate mothers or grandmothers call to complain that their star was grievously overlooked or that their unique family spelling of a first name was wrong in the paper.

That is all part of it, he knows.

Occasionally, he even is personally invited to team banquets at the end of a season, being asked to bring along his camera and sometimes a hot dish.

Jerry is more than a sports reporter and photographer. He is the editor of the paper, too, now supervising two full-time and two part-time reporters. Still, there are certain things he will not turn over to others. One of them is getting out to high school games and matches.

It is a pleasure for all at the Gazette that Jerry was recognized by the state football coaches’ association for his dedication and interest. It was a deserving recognition as Jerry has been the backbone of Whitman County rural sports coverage for decades. During his time at the Gazette, several newspapers have come and gone. All of them managed to get some mention of a big game or two, but only Jerry covered the entire season and the entire gamut of rural county sports.

Congratulations, Jerry, and thank you. Thank you, too, to the local coaches who recognized his service and nominated him.

Gordon Forgey

Publisher