Alan Rach March 16, 1944 - August 5, 2016
Born on a farm near Grand Marais, MB in 1944, Alan Rach's first job as a young teen was delivering the Winnipeg Tribune at Grand Beach near Lake Winnipeg.
Raised by his grandparents, aunt and uncles, Alan's family fostered in him a love of music and the written word. They also were instrumental in guiding him to develop a strong value system which served him well as a reporter and editor.
Mostly self-educated, Alan put his love of reading and writing together with an intense interest in local, national and international events and determined that a newspaper career would build on his strengths. That interest in current affairs persisted until his death at which time he was surrounded by newspapers set aside to be devoured and analyzed.
Alan was a craftsman, a meticulous editor, a wordsmith, a teacher of young reporters, an excellent people person and above all the one who could stay calm during the frenzy of producing a large metropolitan daily. He had a wry sense of humour that emerged always at just the right time to lighten the atmosphere during tense situations surrounding a daily deadline.
He was a master of the quick "off-the-wall quip" or "Al-ism," as many friends and colleagues can attest, but he abhorred euphemisms. When talking about content for his obituary he made it clear that he was going to "die" not "pass away."
As a newsman, Alan was among the best. His news judgment was always secure, no second-guessing. And those well-entrenched values -- such as honesty and integrity -- guided his every decision.
Alan's 45-year-career in newspapers began at the Winnipeg Free Press in 1963 where he was mentored by caring editors. He began as a copy runner -- an entry level job with many tasks. Included was "running" short pages of copy or "takes" to the edit desk while the reporter continued writing. Often the first page was being set in type -- complete with headline -- before the reporter wrote -30- or "The End." Every step was geared to deadline and press start due to the complicated mechanical process.
Within six months of being hired by the FP Alan was promoted first to night and then day police beat reporter. In those days it was on-the-job experience and mentoring that honed a prospective reporter's skills. As he got better at the craft he covered Winnipeg City Hall and then Supreme court. He wrote about the run-up to the 5th Pan-American Games held in Winnipeg in 1967 -- a big deal for that city.
After apprenticing at the Free Press Alan was offered a job at the Calgary Herald where he began as a reporter in 1965 soon moving to the copy desk as an editor. In his 43 years with The Herald he served as assistant city editor, entertainment editor (twice), weekend editor, news editor and finally editorial page editor. In the latter position he designed the pages, selected and edited the work of columnists, contributed to editorials -- the opinion section of the newspaper -- and sat on the editorial board, a body that even today determines the political stripe of a newspaper.
Upon reflecting on his career as a newspaperman and the legacy of the scholarship, Alan said: "I hope this annual award will enable bright young men and women to educate themselves to become contributing members of a craft whose role is to guard our democratic system."