02/2004 – Donn Esmonde

Donn Esmonde

PGF honors Buffalo News columnist Donn Esmonde as its person of the month for February 2004.

Some of Mr. Esmonde’s work has been featured on this site with his generous permission. Mr. Esmonde’s focus on the good of a community, its individuals, and its collective needs is part of a long tradition in the newspaper business. He and others like him across the world draw our attention to the human side of the news. Their words speak of joy and tragedy, heroism, weakness, poverty, those who contribute and those who take. They act as a public advocate and as a gadfly. They help us to see our own lives reflected in the lives of our neighbors. They expose those who take the public’s trust for granted and those who capitalize on a community’s drive and determination.

Over the past year Mr. Esmonde’s articles on school bullying, community leadership, struggling neighborhoods, community pride and determination, joblessness, everyday hopes and dreams, and those who succeed with us or fail us have contributed to community discourse. We have watched Mr. Esmonde’s work over the years. We are truly impressed by the thoughtfulness of his articles. We have seen real results generated from words. We encourage all those who like Mr. Esmonde take on this role, and in the best traditions of the newspaper business use their words to challenge and encourage us. It is our hope that they will, on occasion, cause us to pause and re-evaluate our contribution to the community – encouraging us to build for the future.

Mr. Esmonde’s articles can be read on-line at the Buffalo News.

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