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Visit www.oakville.ca Attention recreation and culture service providers and instructors! Job Share & Fair | Saturday September 17, 2011 | 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Town Hall, 1225 Trafalgar Road, South Atrium The Recreation and Culture Department is looking for new program opportunities, new contacts and new instructors for programs. Come by and meet the staff and tell us about what you do. Don't forget a rm Please call 905-845-6601 ext. 3153 for more information. 406 SPEERS RD., OAKVILLE ACROSS FROM RONA LANSING 905-337-2066 www.cobb les tonembers .ca MASONRY & FIREPLACE DESIGN SPECIALISTS rm up to fall. w w w .i n si d eH A LT O N .c o m O A K V IL LE B EA V ER W ed ne sd ay , S ep te m be r 14 , 2 01 1 8 By Angela Blackburn OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Editorial newsroom Rod Jerred speaking. After three decades, that response to a call to The Oakville Beaver news- room, will be missed as of Friday. With Jerred answering, a caller was sure to get an earnest response one from an honest, fair-minded kind-hearted, but tough, newsman. Thats because Jerred is a con- sumate newsman. Having done every job in the Beaver newsroom, Jerred, 57, is mov- ing on to the broader role of Hamilton Community News group managing editor overseeing community newspapers in Stoney Creek, Dundas, Hamilton Mountain and Ancaster. With Jerred at the helm as manag- ing editor of The Oakville Beaver over the last decade, the paper was named Best Community Newspaper in Ontario by the Ontario Community Newspaper Association (OCNA) four years in a row. Last year, it was named top weekly in North America, an honour it shared with the St. Louis American, by the Suburban Newspapers of America. Rods undeniable passion for community journalism is evident in everything that he does. His dedica- tion to the craft has taken the Oakville Beaver to impressive heights in a competitive industry. Under Rods direction, the Beaver has accumulat- ed awards in every aspect of editorial including accolades for feature writing, photography and design. Last year, our paper was named tops in North America, said Metrolands Halton Division Editor in Chief Jill Davis. "Rod was a pleasure to work with and his expertise in his craft resulted in The Oakville Beaver's success in the many newspaper competitions which we entered, including winning best overall newspaper in Ontario four years in a row. We wish him well," said Halton Division Regional General Manager David Harvey. Those achievements are among the highlights of his career in Oakville and the veteran newsman's impend- ing departure is bittersweet. It is a promotion, challenge and a move closer to home for Jerred who, with his wife Kathy, calls Stoney Creek home. The couples two sons, Brennan and Mark, are grown. Having married a Hamilton native, Jerred chose to commute while his wife remained near her roots. However, Jerred has come to know the Oakville community perhaps bet- ter than his hometown. He has covered, day in and day out, the local happenings over many years. Packaging local news from how Town council is spending tax dollars, stories about local residents woes and successes, to what to do with the kids this weekend to connect busy resi- dents with their own community is the role of the paper, said Jerred. The role we played with every issue of the paper was to connect people with their community, said Jerred. Hes had many say their mom still has their photo as a youth published in the Beaver on her fridge. Others have had the supermarket cashier ask, Werent you the guy on page 3? It will not be easy for Rod to say goodbye to this community that has been his home away from home for some 25 years. He has had many a long night at his desk ensuring readers enjoyed the latest in the news of the day. He is unabashedly proud of Oakville and his newspaper. Yes, it was his newspaper his third child that need- ed constant attention, said Davis. Rod has played a significant role in the success of The Oakville Beaver. He cares deeply about producing high quality editorial and supporting the community. Rod will do an excellent job with the Hamilton Community News, said one-time Beaver publisher Ian Oliver who is now Metroland Media Group Ltd. president. While Jerred has worked daily to document the news in Oakville, he has also played his own role in it at times, . He has been on radio and television offering insight into election campaigns or acting as a panelist during televised local all-candidates debates. He has been a speaker at the Oakville Community Centre for Peace, Ecology and Human Rights, is a member of the Halton Roundtable on Poverty and is currently chair of Sheridan Colleges journalism advisory board. It was at Sheridan College that the Regina, Saskatchewan native was first introduced to journalism. Having followed a friend studying photography to Sheridan, Jerred found his passion at Sheridan. With sociology studies at the University of Regina to his credit, Jerred graduated from Sheridan and took a string of journalism jobs, including Jerred closing a chapter at the Oakville Beaver RIZIERO VERTOLLI / OAKVILLE BEAVER PUTTING IT TO BED: Rod Jerred, long-time managing editor of The Oakville Beaver, is leaving this community's newspaper after three decades of covering Oakville news. He'll be taking on the challenges as group editor of the four community newspapers at Hamilton Community News. See Veteran page 9