'Tributes and farewells' at the Miami Herald

This week the Miami Herald let go 7 staffers with a combined 128 years of service. They're not being replaced.

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From: "Hirsch, Rick"
Date: April 30, 2015
To: MIA Newsroom
Subject: Tributes and farewells
Reply-To: rhirsch@miamiherald.com

Staff:

This week, we say goodbye to a crew of talented Miami Herald staffers who have contributed much to what makes this newsroom special.

We wanted to take a moment to acknowledge their contributions:

-- Chuck Buhman has worked in almost every news area in his 12 years at the Herald -- Features, Business, Neighbors, Broward news, Miami-Dade news and even Sports, copy editing and designing fronts and inside pages.

His easygoing manner worked wonders to calm countless stressed out content editors over the years. He never said no to the work sent his way. We will miss his can-do attitude and efficiency that is second to none.

-- Sue Cocking started writing for the Herald as a freelancer in 1992, then became a staff member a little more than two years later.

In the years since, she's taken readers on countless adventures -- hunting hogs, slogging through sloughs, camping and kayaking, diving blue holes in the Bahamas and springs in North Florida, catching every species of fish imaginable and releasing most of them, tickling out spiny lobsters and eating all of them, and last year, her personal challenge, walking Camino de Santiago de Compostela (the Way of St. James).

She's battled 10-foot seas, killer sharks, alligators, snakes, venemous lionfish and mosquitos a lot bigger than the ones you see on Miami Beach.

She has chronicled the fading cultures of the Gladesmen and Crackers. She has been an advocate for the environment and for preserving the best of our great outdoors. That’s more than 20 years of escapades and adventures. Her readers will miss those vicarious thrills.

-- Mike Kern has brought excellent news judgment, skilled editing and a breadth of knowledge to our Sports Department for more than 14 years.

He has handled more copy, and collaborated with more reporters -- many times on a tight deadline -- than just about anybody in Sports. He was in the trenches during the championship seasons of the 2003 Marlins, the 2006 Heat and 2012-13 Heat. He is a wordsmith whose time-efficient, common-sense approach has helped our content sparkle.

We'll miss his expertise, attention to detail, his love of Detroit sports and his many great headlines under pressure.

-- Sue Mullin's career at the Miami Herald dates back some 20 years, during which she has done everything from dining reviews to freelance stories in Nicaragua to overseeing the Calendar.

Sue came to the Herald after working as a reporter and TV critic in Washington D.C. for the Washington Star which became the Washington Times.

As the Herald's Calendar chief, she oversaw our conversion to digital -- a huge challenge -- always meeting it with meticulous care and good humor.

-- Ana Rodriguez has had a hand in archiving every section of both the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald during the last nine years. All the while, her true passion for library science and preservation has shone through.

Archiving can be a tedious, thankless job, only relieved by understanding the profound importance of yesterday's news. Ana understood this and was proud to do the work.

During her time here she achieved two masters degrees, one in Library Science and the other in Art History in Latin American Art and Modern Contemporary Art, which she will complete in May.

-- David Walters’ career at the Herald spans 36 years, a career full of adventure, achievement and a bit of notoriety.

David joined the Herald in 1978, a year out of the Missouri School of Journalism. In the next few years, David documented revolutions in El Salvador and Nicaragua, the 1980 McDuffie race riots, the Mariel Boatlift, the 1986 Mexico City earthquake (Pulitzer finalist), Hurricane Andrew in 1992, Manuel Noriega’s indictment and the U.S. invasion of Panama and six assignments to Cuba.

In addition to being a Pulitzer finalist, David also won awards from: NPPA Pictures of the Year, Atlanta Seminar on Photojournalism, Southern Short Course, Overseas Press Club, Inter-American Press Association, Green Eye Shade and Society for Newspaper Design (SND).

David became a photo editor in 1992, and he directed the Broward staff for six years before transferring to Miami in 1998.

As an editor, he blended a passion for the best storytelling images with his knowledge of page design. His advocacy for his team -- and great visual journalism -- was as well know as his sense of humor, all which will be missed.

-- Dean Yobbi began his Herald career in 1999 working for the sports department, showing great skill and dedication to his work. After a few years, he began working with Neighbors where his dedication was ever so important working with a product that required keen attention to detail and a seemingly impossible page flow.

But Dean always made it look easy. He is a team player willing and able to do anything asked of him. We will miss his easy going nature and his work ethic.

Rick

Rick Hirsch
Managing Editor
Miami Herald
3511 NW 91 Ave.
Miami, Fl., 33172
www.miamiherald.com
305-376-3504
@rickhirsch