I probably owe an apology this morning to Conor Egan.
Conor is a senior at Monsignor Bonner. He and I were both in attendance last night at one of my favorite events of the year, the Partners in Learning Celebration at the Drexelbrook.
I was there to honor the 21 All-Delco Hi-Q students as well as the 19 teachers selected for Excellence in Teaching Awards. You can check out our coverage here.
I actually went over to Conor's table before the dinner started and warned him that I might be mentioning him in my remarks.
I made a point of introducing myself as the editor of both the Delaware County Daily Times and DelcoTimes.com. I did that for a reason.
One is because our website, DelcoTimes.com, is becoming a bigger and bigger part of our business. It allows us to deliver news to our readers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
But more importantly, I brought it up because not a week seems to go by that some expert does not remind me that newspapers are no longer relevant, we are a relic of the past, that the quaint notion of putting ink on paper has gone the way of the dinosaurs.
That's when I introduced Conor and asked him to stand up. I asked him to inform the audience which school he represented.
I also said it was my distinct pleasure to announce that Conor will NOT be the last All-Delco Hi-Q representative from Bonner-Prendie.
I then asked how many among the 500 attending the dinner at the Drexebrook were either Bonner or Prendie alums. As you might expect, a lot of hands went up.
I then asked all of them, Conor, his parents, his teammates, and all those alums a very simple question.
Do you believe newspapers are no longer relevant?
I then gave a quick recount of the newspaper's coverage of what is still referred to as 'The Miracle of Drexel Hill," how a community rallied to save their school, and how we covered it.
It's that kind of coverage, along with events like last night, that always make me most proud to be the editor of this newspaper.
I said last night and I repeat it here. The highest compliment I have received as an editor - more important than any of the awards we have won - are all the calls, messages and emails I received from people who said the newspaper was instrumental in reversing the ruling that both Monsignor Bonner and Archbishop Prendergast be closed.
My thanks again to Rick Durante and John Unangst of the Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union for a first-class night. I wish everyone could attend this soiree just once. If you want a glimpse of this county's best and brightest, that's the place to be.
And once again, I hope I didn't embarrass you, Conor. You should be proud of your accomplishments. And your school.
I know I am.
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