LDN’s Roy Logan announces retirement

 

[December 17, 2020] 

Shortly before Thanksgiving, Lincoln Daily News learned that advertising associate Roy Logan would be retiring in the immediate future.

Logan, who has been a friend of Lincoln Daily News since its beginning, and an occasional writer and reporter prior to joining the team in 2014, will be leaving a big gap in our tight knit little group of staff.

Over his working lifetime, Roy has enjoyed a number of careers. His love of cooking gave him a career with Al's Main Event and the Depot Restaurant, and his love of people gave him a career with the Lincoln Park District. Both of those careers plus his occasional television appearances back in the day of CITV5 made him a well-known character within our community.

Roy is one of those people who knows everyone, never met a stranger, and if, by chance, he doesn’t know you when he meets you he will definitely know you by the time you part company. The friends he made along the way are still his friends and he is loved by many people. We have a special appreciation for his love for the community and his desire to serve the community to the best of his ability.

He tells us now that even though he is leaving the work force he is not leaving us and that is something for which we are very grateful. Roy has been an important part of many of the efforts at Lincoln Daily News. He was instrumental in showcasing businesses through ribbon cutting events, and helping us build the breast cancer awareness campaigns that have benefitted so many through its fundraising efforts for the American Cancer Society.

He knows and understands planning events and making people happy to attend those events, and says he plans to be around in 2021 when we are able to go back to our efforts in Relay for Life, Paint the Paper Pink, and the Pink Pumpkin Auction.

He also still intends to be there for us when we hold our 2021 drive thru cookouts for RFL.

Roy brought to Lincoln Daily News his contagious smile and ability to deliver a story with such hilarity that we would laugh until our sides hurt. He has his Roy-isms which is not so much the words coming out of his mouth but the way he delivers them. That is hard to describe, but those who know Roy as well as we do know exactly what we are talking about.

“We have all been touched by his infectious humor and quick wit. He made me smile every day,” said LDN Advertising Director Karen Hargis.

Roy joined Lincoln Daily News in the fall of 2014. There had been a perfect storm brewing at that time. The retirement of LDN’s Copy Editor and a realignment of responsibilities among existing staff and owners opened the door for adding another advertising representative to work with Hargis. As she began putting out feelers for a person to join the team, Roy was preparing to depart from the park district. A conversation with Roy and learning that he was leaving his current job lit a fire for owners Jim and Jan Youngquist and soon they were talking with Roy about joining Lincoln Daily News on a full time basis.

Prior to 2014, Roy was a contributor to LDN. He wrote mainly about his favorite interest - cooking. LDN benefited from his knowledge of cooking annually in its special online magazines, and Roy also pitched in with articles on other topics from time to time. He was well known by Hargis and she considered him a friend long before she ever imagined that he would be a co-worker.

Transitioning Roy into the job went smoothly and soon it was as though he had been one of us from the first day.

Karen noted, “Roy has been a great asset to LDN. He came at a time when we needed someone who knew the community and was invested here. We are a better paper because of his abilities and his love for us and his customers.”

Over the last five years, he and Karen have worked together and independently to continue building the advertising base for the paper. Roy has a way of not asking, but telling that several of the LDN advertisers could not resist. In Roy’s mind right was right, and when he told someone that advertising with LDN was the right thing to do, he made believers out of them.

At the same time, while his goal was to help LDN, he never forgot that he also wanted to help his clients. Whether it was an issue with the cost of advertising, or an ad that would mysteriously disappear on the clients computer, Roy would dig and dig and grunt and wail, burning up his telephone until he got what his client needed and deserved.

Roy is a part of the LDN family now, and we won’t let him out of our lives. Though most of the staff at LDN are in the same generation, many times we view Roy as a special blend of “Father knows best” and “Uncle Buck.” His unique perspective of always do what is right, but don’t be afraid to be a bit unconventional to get there is something that we will keep with us. And, we’re confident that we will use the motivator “What would ROY do?” from time to time.

So, to Roy we now say, thank you. Thanks for making us better. Thank you for making us laugh. Thank you for being a part of our family.

While Roy is leaving us, he is not leaving our community. He will be out there. He looks forward to being out and about and spending time with friends. He has plans to do more cooking of course and no doubt the staff at the LDN office will benefit from that as we get to eat the leftovers!

Roy spoke briefly about his decision to retire saying that he has had a blast at Lincoln Daily News, and the time he spent with all of us has been “terrific.” We feel the same say Roy Boy!

Hargis spoke for all of us when she said, “Wishing you the best on the next leg of your journey my friend. Love ya’!”

[Nila Smith]