Happy Father’s Day to the one I consider the closest person to a father I’ve ever had — the late, great Jim McAlister.
Jim was known for helping, supporting, and recognizing the student-athletes of Kentucky throughout his sports writing career, and I’m fortunate to have been one of them. He gave this skinny, immature, smart-aleck teenager a chance to be something when he really didn’t have to.
I always wanted to be a sports writer since the first time I picked up a newspaper and read his stories, and he made that dream come true. I’m sure my consistent pestering whenever I saw him in public got on his nerves, but he never showed it.
What began as a friendship evolved into him being a father figure for me. He gave me a chance when no one else would.
One day, he asked if I could cover a game for him and travel. My pay would be just mileage, but I didn’t care — I just wanted the opportunity to prove myself.
After a year of doing that, I finally got my chance to work for a real paycheck. I’ll never forget the day Jim called me and said, “Hey, I’ve got you on at the Sentinel-Echo for part-time work, but you have to keep doing well in school. Now that you have your foot in the door, let’s see what you can do.”
A few years later, Jim left the Sentinel-Echo to take the sports editor job at the Times-Tribune. His first hire?
Me.
I couldn’t believe it.
I was a full-time sports writer at a daily paper, all because Jim believed in me.
Yes, I put in the hard work and education to reach that point, but Jim gave me the chance that no one else would. Two weeks later, all the happiness and excitement turned into fear. Jim called and wanted me to meet him at Cracker Barrel in Corbin. When I arrived, he told me he was going back to the Sentinel-Echo as the Sports Editor, but I would be fine. He said I had a huge opportunity to prove myself at the Times-Tribune and maybe even work my way up to becoming the Sports Editor there.
And the rest is history. One hundred-plus Kentucky Press Association awards later, coupled with a successful journalistic career, I can honestly say I’m very fortunate, and it’s all because of my dad, Jim McAlister.
Sure, we had our typical arguments here and there, but in the end, we’d laugh it off and head to Jim’s favorite spot, Shoney’s, to share stories. Jim’s time here was cut short, and I remember the day I visited him, just one day before he passed. His breathing was shallow, and I knew the time was near. I walked over, whispered in his ear, and told him how much I appreciated his help throughout my life and how much I loved him.
To this day, whenever he’s on my mind, I listen to the voicemails he left just to hear his voice.
Happy Father’s Day to my best buddy, Jim McAlister. You might be gone, but you will never be forgotten.
