This week, after we finish the current print issue, FTW’s long-standing editor, Joy Orlek, will pack up her desk and say goodbye after almost 39 years with the publication. Joy is retiring. As I write this I am still too shocked (and sad) to fully comprehend what the next day will look like at work without Joy, my editor, my manager, my mentor, but more importantly my friend.
She is immensely private and few know that she started her working life as an English and Latin high school teacher on the West Rand before hitting the high road and travelling abroad for a gap year. On her return she opted to try her hand at journalism, working for a community newspaper before joining then Travel & Trade Publishing, now known as Now Media, writing for both its travel and freight publications before settling on freight only.
Accuracy, attention to detail, lack of bias and finding an intriguing way to tell a story are supposed to be sine qua nons of journalism. In the reality of our digital age, this is not so anymore. But Joy’s work has always exemplified these journalistic standards. An exceptional wordsmith and grammarian, she saw them not as idealistic virtues but as qualities to which all readers are entitled.
And she delivered them without fail. “For two decades, beginning in 2001, it was my pleasure to learn from Joy’s experience and be lifted by her compliments when we broke interesting news,” says Eswatini correspondent James Hall.
“She is a consummate professional. Summarising what it’s like working with her – well, as I mentioned to another writer early in my association with Now Media, “if ever someone was given a spot-on name at birth, it’s Joy.” Says Eugene Goddard, newly appointed FTW editor, “Joy is one of the calmest and most composed editors I have worked with. A steady person to turn to when things go topsy turvy, her open-door policy and sanguine management style have ensured that we stay on course. She is not just an editor, but a friend.”
“Joy is a disciplined perfectionist with an astounding work rate," says Dave Marsh, chairman of Now Media, the company which owns FTW."She set standards for the team to write exclusive reports around the issues of the day. The company and readers have a lot to be thankful for.” As do those of us who worked with her every day, says sales representative Yolande Langenhoven. “She is always willing to assist – from wording an email to giving advice, she is truly one of a kind. Oh, and a stickler for correct grammar.”
Ask Joy about FTW and she will tell you the publication was built on the rock solid ethical values of founders John and Leona Marsh, and the visionary leadership of their son Dave, all carried through to the next generation under current MD Anton’s leadership.
Her fierce loyalty to her team, however, is crystal clear when she says, “But the success of the publication has largely been driven by a dedicated, talented and competent sales and editorial team along with their backup – Liesl, Ed Richardson, the late Alan Peat who was one of the forerunners, and the sales team, Yolande, Jodi Haigh, Claire who has moved on to pursue personal interests, and our advertising coordinator Tracie,” she says.
“Then there are the people in the industry who have made my experience so fulfilling and enriching.”I know Joy will miss the work. I don’t think she knows how much the people she worked with will miss her. “There is no one in our office more respected,” says Tracie Barnett. “I will miss the catch-ups (even a little bit of gossip) and the laughter Joy and I shared daily. Thank you for the guidance both at work and personally.” By now, I know, Joy is blushing from all this praise. She has made a difference in so many of our lives in her quiet, unobtrusive way. FTW will never be the same.
