Thomas Richard Schumaker

Dear Mandy and Troy,
Your Dad was one of the most amazing journalism managers I've ever met. I was privileged to get to know you, Mandy, when you were a sophomore at Central High School in Grand Forks and I was a senior. You have a beautiful and powerful voice, and were one of the most charismatic 15-year-olds I've ever met! I got to know your Dad the next year when I was a college freshman at UND. He offered me an internship and, in one of the most pivotable moments in my life, introduced me to one of his mentors, Knight-Ridder executive Jim Batten. (What a company!) I was a kid, but when I walked past his office in the Herald newsroom, I almost always got a waive and a greeting from him through his open door. We stayed in touch for quite a few years after your family moved east. It was through encouragement from your Dad and a handful of other amazing journalists that led me to become a journalist, editor, media lawyer, non-profit manager, J-School dean and now, just an enthusiastic journalism prof trying to encourage young college journalists the way your Dad taught me. His mentorship is coming full circle 48 years later! God bless your family. Lucy Dalglish