Allison
and
I
had
been
talking
about
the
need
and
opportunity
for
a
“Free
Community
Newspaper”
for
the
Westside
for
quite
a
while.
In
May
of
2000,
in
my
role
as
President
of
the
Southeastern
Advertising
Publishers
Association,
we
attended
the
Spring
Conference
of
FCPF,
the
Free
Community
Papers
of
Florida.
These
associations
are
both
built
on
freely
distributed
papers,
either
shoppers
like
The
Pennysaver,
or
community
newspapers.
In
SAPA,
the
majority
of
the
papers
are
shoppers.
At
FCPF
however,
there
was
an
even
split
between
free
community
newspapers
and
shoppers.
This
fact
inspired
Allison
further,
and
we
returned
from
the
conference
with
her
set
on
starting
a
Westside
community
newspaper.
One
complication
to
this
was
my
position
as
General
Manager
of
The
Savannah
Pennysaver.
I
would
not
be
able
to
keep
my
job
while
my
wife
started
a
paper
that
could
be
perceived
as
competition.
We
began
praying
that
The
Lord
would
let
us
know
what
he
wanted
us
to
do.
By
this
time,
I
too
was
getting
excited
about
the
prospect
of
owning
our
own
business.
In
the
last
week
of
May,
I
joked
with
Allison
that
“it
would
sure
be
nice
if
The
Lord
would
give
us
a
sign
that
we
couldn’t
miss,
like
a
flashing
neon
sign
on
our
bedroom
wall”
to
let
us
know
what
he
would
have
us
do.
And,
sure
enough,
he
did.
In
September
of
1998,
Mr.
Morris,
owner
of
The
Pennysaver,
let
me
know
he
intended
to
start
a
free
community
newspaper
in
Savannah.
That
product
debuted
in
January
of
1999
as
Connect
Savannah.
My
role
remained
that
of
General
Manager,
and
I
was
responsible
for
printing,
distribution,
advertising
sales,
...everything
except
the
editorial
content
of
the
new
publication.
By
the
sixth
issue,
we
had
published
an
editorial
entitled
“Queer
Pier”,
an
expose
of
gay
cruising
sites
in
Chatham
County
that
went
overboard
in
its
graphic
description
of
some
of
the
things
witnessed
during
the
investigative
work
of
the
reporter.
When
Allison
read
the
article,
she
called
my
circulation
department
and
had
delivery
of
the
paper
stopped
at
our
home,
insisting
that
the
material
was
inappropriate
for
being
delivered
to
homes
where
children
could
be
reading
it.
I
was
very
uncomfortable
going
to
church
that
Sunday.
On
Friday,
June
2nd,
Connect
Savannah
published
an
editorial
from
a
contributing
writer
entitled
“Jesus
is
just
alright
with
me,”
a
decidedly
anti-Christian
editorial.
I
had
seen
a
copy
of
it
Thursday
night
while
working
late
at
the
office.
I
told
Allison
about
the
article
Friday
morning,
and
that
I
was
just
going
to
tell
them
I
could
no
longer
represent
Connect
Savannah
in
public.
To
make
a
long
story
short,
that’s
exactly
what
I
did.
I
told
them
I
had
stood
by
the
publication
during
“Queer
Pier”
and
the
“Interview
with
a
Satanic
Priest”
but
that
when
our
paper
starts
taking
cheap
shots
at
Jesus,
I
had
to
draw
the
line.
I
had
no
idea
that
I
would
be
fired
for
that.
I
thought
I
would
probably
have
my
job
responsibilities
shifted
to
selling
advertising
on
The
Pennysaver’s
website.
After
all,
I
had
been
with
The
Pennysaver
for
over
14
years.
My
immediate
supervisor
terminated
my
employment,
and
honestly,
I’ve
never
felt
better.
I
had
stood
up
for
what
I
believed
in,
and
felt
confident
that
this
was
The
Lord
at
work,
opening
doors
and
providing
what
was
as
close
to
a
flashing
neon
sign
as
you
could
ask
for.
Since
then,
The
Lord
has
provided
a
way
for
our
family,
and
we
hope
to
give
him
something
back
with
The
Spirit
of
the
Westside,
as
we
seek
to
follow
his
will,
assured
that
this
is
what
he
wants
us
to
be
doing
with
our
lives
at
this
time.
