The traditional gift for a first anniversary is constructed of paper. How fitting, then, that the publishers and staff of PressBox present this issue of our newspaper especially to you, dear reader.

It was a year ago that the first edition of a new, free weekly publication about Baltimore sports hit the streets. Many cast doubts about its ability to endure in this day of communications competition, but here we are, celebrating a birthday and making optimistic plans for many more.

As most of you are aware, PressBox is not just a growing newspaper, but a multimedia endeavor which includes a thriving website (pressboxonline.com), several radio shows and a specialty publishing division that, although in its infancy, shows great promise. The issuing of a recent book about Baltimore Orioles Hall of Famer Cal Ripken has generated much success and is a harbinger of similar products to come.

With the birth of any new product come bitter pangs, and PressBox has achingly survived its share of problems, resulting in our cover stories for this issue. Those stressful moments are balanced by many good times, however, and the incomparable feeling that comes with knowledge of a job well done.

It is, then, with great hope for the future that managing editor Kevin Heitz, director of online operations Jennifer Nelson, vice president of sales and marketing John Coulson, staff writer Joe Platania and art director Brad Meerholz take this opportunity to recall some of our first year's memories of PressBox -- both good and bad. 

In a special edition of "One Fan's Opinion," publisher Stan "The Fan" Charles recalls all that surrounded the 52 weeks leading up to the launch of PressBox. 

We all look forward to the challenge of improving our products and becoming an even more influential player in Baltimore's sports society. 

Enjoy. We certainly have.

-- Larry Harris  

Kevin Heitz
Managing Editor

Wow…I survived a year with Stan "The Fan" as my boss -- and we made 52 out of 52 deadlines! Most of the last year was a blur, but a few things, good and bad, definitely stand out. 

That first issue seems like it hit the streets ages ago. I toiled away at writing a cover story – after all, we didn't have a large stable of writers to choose from -- and we dived right into NFL draft coverage. 

It felt great to get that first issue done, but then reality set in. We had months to plan Issue 1, and now we faced a deadline only days away for Issue 2. Then, there had to be a third, fourth, fifth…what did we get ourselves in to?

The second issue may have been the most difficult, but we just kept grinding away. I'm very proud of the cover stories we have published and the writers we have used (and hopefully not abused) over the past year. 

One of my "favorite" memories involved barely meeting a print deadline, drinking some beer, watching baseball and yelling at my boss -- and that all happened in a span of five hours. 

After one of the first issues went to print, Stan wanted art director Brad Meerholz and myself to finally take a night to relax, and he gave us fantastic tickets to the Orioles game. Always one to listen to my boss, I relaxed to the tune of beer after beer after beer.

Then came the call. Mr. Publisher was calling from the printer, angry at me for a "major mistake" (we'll keep it clean) in the cover story. With hops-induced confidence, I proceeded to yell back and stand my ground. 

Needless to say, the relaxing night of ignoring work stress fell apart from there. I woke up the next day with a pounding headache…and another issue due to the printer a few short days away. 

***

Jennifer Nelson
Director of Online Operations

I've never been the type of person who has an answer to the question, "Where do you see yourself in five years?" In fact, I'm not usually the type of person who knows the answer to the question, "What do you feel like for dinner tonight?" But, without a doubt, when I decided to quit my job in New York City and move to Baltimore a little more than a year and a half ago, I certainly had no idea what lay ahead.

When people ask why I moved to Baltimore, my rambling answer usually includes mention of a temporary loss of sanity, but in reality I came here to visit friends and fell in love with the city. That it was an affordable city on the East Coast with professional sports teams sealed the deal.

I've always said that I love working in sports because of the community force. There are very few things that can bring people together, all sorts of people, in all sorts of situations, to either rally around or vent about their team. Standing on the steps of my 10-foot wide house that still seems spacious to me (I moved from New York, remember) and watching fans go by en route to a Ravens game or on their way back from Camden Yards, I get swept away in the sports spirit of this city. 

Being a part of PressBox, I feel that I am able to be a part of this spirit every day -- through our own little team here in the office or through the connections we make with fans through our paper, website, radio shows and special projects like the Cal Ripken magazine. And while I may not have moved to Baltimore for PressBox, it has simply furthered my belief that there's no need to know where you want to be in five years; as long as you just enjoy the ride, things have a way of working out.

***

John Coulson
Vice President, Sales And Marketing

A bit more than a year ago, a close friend equated leaving my job at CBS Radio for partnership in the formation of PressBox to "playing a game of Texas Hold 'em with your career and going all-in." My friend was right and I am happy to report that the high stakes game goes on and PressBox has a damn good chip count.

Few things in life can prepare a person for leaving big corporate America and starting a business. Virtually nothing can prepare a person for starting a business with Stan "The Fan," our Publisher. I say this as I return from our office on Sunday, when Stan and I put all computers up on desks and made sure nothing valuable was on the floor -- all in preparation for a potential flood as the Jones Falls began to top its banks at Clipper Mill. That is something that never happened at CBS! It is while drying out that I offer a short list of my other PressBox entrepreneurial firsts:

• Returning to my office on a 90-degree day to encounter Stan and our editor discussing their revelations after a midday "shvitz" in the sauna at the Meadow Mill Club…where, I might add, we were not yet members.

• Attending a board meeting with our top investors and being informed that I had an added duty as Vice President of Flood Control at our seemingly below-sea-level office. 

• Holding the phone at arm's length while being yelled at for not reporting extensively on a 55-plus age group softball tournament.

• Explaining to numerous individuals that Phil Jackman's comments should not be taken personally. Really, he is just kidding. Right, Phil?

While PressBox continues to grow, with print, radio, internet, special publications and some new initiatives that will push us to the forefront of Baltimore sports information delivery, I want to take this time and thank all who have helped: thousands of sports fans who actually pay attention to what we say, over 110 sponsors who have supported us with advertising dollars and local vendors who have worked with us to print, design and deliver our numerous products. Thank you! We look forward to a second year of growth.

***

Joe Platania
PressBox Staff

As a sports-loving kid in a sports-crazy town like Baltimore, it probably wouldn't surprise you to know that I read as many sports pages on which I could get my hands.

From the age of 4, people like John Steadman, Bob Maisel, Jim Henneman, Phil Jackman and many others quickly became a big part of my life. Their brilliant prose and insightful -- and, in Jackman's case, irreverent -- interpretations on sports issues of the day made me want to get into this business. 

And in September 1979, the same week ESPN hit the airwaves, I hit the ground running at The Hall, the Calvert Hall College High School publication. Twenty-eight years -- and many newspapers and radio stations later -- I'm proud to say I've covered all kinds of sports at all levels and won multiple awards in both print and broadcast media.

But it's only in the past 12 months that I've felt things come full circle.

Here at PressBox, I get to share space each week with Henneman and Jackman, as well as bounce ideas around with Stan "The Fan" Charles, on whose radio show I was employed at the time the Ravens won Super Bowl XXXV. It's people like them who make this the kind of first-rate publication a first-rate sports town like Charm City deserves. 

There's a phrase I often use when describing Baltimore to outsiders: "It's a town of strong loyalties and long memories." It's a philosophy we practice here, as evidenced by our professional manner and the personal, hometown flair we put in our content.

I'm not saying all that because I'm here, either. In my nearly three decades in this business, I've been involved with several start-up operations that failed because people in key positions quite frankly didn't know what they were doing.

Here, everybody pulls together and does their jobs so very well each and every week. In every new venture I've ever undertaken, I've always tried to do my job as if it were second nature from the first day. At this paper -- and in this town -- that is a shared philosophy.

And the best part is that it's one that gets passed down to future generations. It's my hope that when PressBox celebrates its 50th anniversary, someone working here will have achieved even more in this business than I did... and maybe they'll say that I inspired them to get started.

***

Brad Meerholz
Art Director

Kevin Heitz pretty much summed this past year up when he wrote "wow" and "beer after beer after beer."

My involvement with PressBox started a little more than two years ago. After a referral from a co-worker, I was approached by Stan "The Fan" about working with him to develop a look for a new sports publication.

Being a 26-year-old lifelong sports fan I was thrilled at the opportunity, from both a personal and professional aspect, to become one of the first members of the PressBox team.

What started innocently enough as a logo exploratory has blossomed into a thuroughly enjoyable and, at some times, completely exhausting second job. I am lucky enough to have been given complete creative freedom on each and every cover story to do whatever I feel is right for that particular issue, which is a rareity in my profession.

I try to squeeze cover design time into my schedule whenever I can. Ideally I would sit down early Saturday or Sunday morning and bang out a cover and accompanying cover story design, but that doesn't always happen.

A few instances have forced me to work under some interesting circumstances:

• The final night of Issue 1 was a living hell that found me at Wal-Mart at midnight searching for computer parts so I could actually finish the issue by the next day. Needless to say I ended up going into work at 1 a.m., armed with a thermos of coffee in one hand and an impending nervous breakdown in the other. But, the issue got out and I ended up going to sleep after being awake for 45 straight hours.

• I ended up pulling an all-nighter the night before and after going to Chicago for a three-day bachelor party bender (not recommended.)

• And Because of a trip to Napa (i.e. "Heaven On Earth") the day after Christmas, I had to crank out two issues in three days (two of which were Christmas Eve and Christmas Day), and work through the night the day we got back to finish up the design of the Cal Ripken magazine.

This endeavor has been so much fun, and even through the tyring times I am so thankful for the opportunity to work with such great people on a subject I care so deeply about. And, most importantly, I'd like to  thank my lovely wife Jess for her support and wish her a happy 28th birthday.

Issue 2.16: April 19, 2007