Cardinal Alumni, Staff Gather in Milwaukee

Pictured in the attached photo (left to right) taken at the Newsroom Pub & Grill in Milwaukee are: Bill Kurtz (’73); Paula Brookmire (’72); Mark Bennett (current Cardinal sports editor); Alex Morrell (’09); Gabbi Chee, a senior at the University of Dallas who has been working with Brookmire as an intern at the Milwaukee County Zoo; Pulitzer Prize winner Dave Umhoefer (’83) and Pete Faust (’86). Not pictured: Justin Stephani (’10) and Michael Juley (’73).

The question: What was life like at the Daily Cardinal in the ‘70s and ’80?

The answer: Just as chaotic as it is now.

The question: What did you learn at the Cardinal?

The answer: More journalism than what we did in J-school.

The question: How do I find a job in the real world?

Answer: Use the skills you learned in the Cardinal newsroom – they are easily transferable to virtually any job.

The questions and answers flowed freely, as did the beer and soda, during the first Daily Cardinal Alumni/staff mentoring meeting for Milwaukee-area current and former staffers Aug. 11 at the Newsroom Pub & Grill. Jim Nelson, president of the Milwaukee Press Club and also Cardinal alum, arranged for the meeting to be held at the Newsroom Pub & Grill, which is the home of the Milwaukee Press Club.

The meeting was arranged by Michael Juley (Class of ’73) at the urging of Allison Sansone of the Alumni Association, who graciously provided a listing of 300 Milwaukee-area Daily Cardinal alumni and a handful of names of current Cardinal staff members who lived in the Milwaukee area. From the list of 300, 15 alumni were invited to attend, along with four current staffers. The numbers were kept low because such a meeting had never been organized before and organizers didn’t really know what to expect.

Alumni who attended included:

Bill Kurtz (’73), a former member of the Cardinal sports staff and now a communications associate with Carthage College.

Paula Brookmire (’71-’72 graduate school), now publications coordinator for the non-profit Zoological Society of Milwaukee. Paula brought along Gabbi Chee, a senior at the University of Dallas in Irving, Texas, who has been working this summer with Paula as an intern at the Milwaukee County Zoo.

Dave Umhoefer (‘83), former Cardinal reporter (1981-83) and city editor (1983), now investigative reporter and 2008 Pulitzer Prize winner at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Pete Faust (’86), former Cardinal sports writer and now a lawyer with the firm of O’Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong and Laing.

Michael Juley (’73), Cardinal sports writer in 1971-’72 and co-sports editor in ’72-’73, now assistant metro editor/police and courts for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Current or just-graduated staffers attending included:

Alex Morrell (’09), editor in chief 08-‘09, and now watchdog intern at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Mark Bennett, sophomore, sports editor.

Justin Stephani, arts editor in spring 2009, managing editor fall 2009, copy chief spring 2010, journalism grad spring 2010.

All those in attendance agreed that the meeting was worth the time, and that the alumni and current staffers should meet again next August. If you wish to attend next year’s meeting, or just want to stay in touch with Milwaukee-area alumni and/or current staffers, send an e-mail to Michael Juley at mjuley@journalsentinel.com and we’ll keep in touch.