Harry Francis

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Fondly remembering the best boss I ever had

Jul 27, 2019 | 6:54 AM

KAMLOOPS HAS HAD many outstanding media people over the years.

Names like Jack Knox, Walter Jones, Frances Bula, Dave Obee, Angelo Iacobucci, Bob Price, Jim Harrison, Susan Duncan, Doug Collins and many others come to mind. But not all have been news people; not all have been known for their bylines or their voices.

Some have been in the business end of the media and have quietly steered their ships toward bigger and better things, leaving the notoriety to their journalists. Do names like Robbie Dunn, Dale Brin, Rick Arnish and Bryson Stone ring a bell?

They’re the guys who were in charge, who had to make sure the bills were paid, who decided when to spend and when to cut, when to take chances and when to be cautious, who to hire and fire. They were the bosses.

This past week, we lost one of the best — in fact, THE best, in my books.

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In the summer of 1970, a new city editor was hired at the Kamloops News Advertiser. The man who did the hiring was Harry Francis. The new hire, of course, was me. I was 26.

Harry was in his 40s at the time. He didn’t have a newspaper background before he became the majority partner and publisher of the paper, which had begun life as a shopper in the 1930s. After Harry bought it in the 1960s, and with Bob Egby as editor, the publication began adding news content.

Business partners Norm MacDonald and John Harlow also worked at the paper. Another partner, Allie Campbell, was the owner of Overland Press.

It was my good fortune that Egby, an exceptional journalist, jumped ship to NL radio, providing me with the opportunity to move to Kamloops to be closer to family.

I worked with more than a half dozen publishers during my years at the paper but it’s Harry I felt closest to. (Al McNair was a close second.)

While he was active in the community, especially in sports, and was respected and liked by all who knew him, he had no ego and wasn’t interested in whether or not he had a public profile. He had a smile for everyone; he was generous almost to a fault.

Before coming to my new job in Kamloops, I had been working my way through university with help from the Bank of Mom and Dad, but had to drop out when I could no longer afford it.

As I regained my financial footing, I began thinking about going back to school to finish up my journalism degree, and asked Harry if he’d consider giving me a leave of absence for three months to attend the summer session at the University of Washington in Seattle where I’d been studying.

It was a big ask, and a different boss might have told me I’d have to choose between school and the job. Instead, he immediately gave his OK. Not only that, he kept me on a full-time salary for the entire time I was gone.

The fact he would do that still amazes me, and I remain ever grateful.

Here’s another example. Harry expanded partnership opportunities to his managers for the sole reason he wanted them to benefit from being part of the business. I, Herb George, Mel Recchi and accountant Rolf Timmermans became part of the ownership team.

One day when Harry was on vacation, I got mad over an incident I considered editorial interference, and quit in a huff. If I’d just been patient, Harry would have sorted it all out when he got back, because he figured editors, not publishers and accountants, should run newsrooms.

A few months in an administrative job at Cariboo College made me realize I needed to be in journalism to breathe, and it was Harry Francis who made sure I got my old job back.

His stewardship at the paper was a turning point for journalism in Kamloops. The Kamloops News Advertiser became The Kamloops News and eventually The Kamloops Daily News, the community’s newspaper of record.

I’ve always said that at the time Kamloops was the best media town in the country. In its heyday, the local media market had a daily newspaper, a community newspaper, neighbourhood newspapers, a television station and five radio stations, all of them fighting it out for every news story and every last dollar of revenue and often going for beers together at the end of the day.

I know many who benefited from Harry’s caring leadership and have their own stories to tell. When I heard from his family that Harry died last weekend at 93 I could only think about what a fine man this community has lost. His obit says he was a wonderful husband to Lil for 72 years, and an inspirational father, grandfather and great-grandfather. That’s no exaggeration.

We are, every one of us, a product of the people around us. If it hadn’t been for Harry Francis, I would never have come to Kamloops to make a life here, build a career, and enjoy all the things the city and region have given me.

And if it hadn’t been for Harry, there never would have been a Kamloops Daily News. He made Kamloops better.

Thanks, Harry.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and newspaper editor. He publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.