Victoria, Matt, Cat and Elizabeth at Matt and Cat's Halloween wedding.
Name: Cathianne Werner-Porterfield
Newspaper: The Journal
Position: News Editor
Number of years in the newspaper or printing business: Seven
Job description: Reporter, photographer and editor for the weekly The Journal, which serves readers within the boundaries of the Lake Forest School District.
What I like best (about my job): Everything! Being a sort of one-woman show at the paper has allowed me to stay very closely in touch with the heartbeat of this community. I love serving as a sort of INI ambassador for The Journal whether that’s at a Little League Game or covering my community’s more sensitive and hard-hitting news events. There’s never a dull moment.
Most memorable moment with INI: There have been many. But, perhaps the most defining moment came when I left the Delaware State News and took what was supposed to be a cushy state job with “normal” working hours. Just a couple weeks into my new position as a program coordinator at Delaware Technical & Community College, I was lying in bed enjoying one of my new state employee benefits – a snow day! The phone rang. It was Delaware State News Managing Editor Andy West who had heard through the grapevine, otherwise known as Gwen “Tell Gwen” Guerke, that I was disenchanted with my state job and working with humorless drones. Andy offered me the opportunity to return to INI as news editor for The Journal and I jumped on it. Thanks Andy and Gwen!!
Hobbies/Interests: Halloween! Those who know Matt and I also know we get a little nuts over the holiday. Writing and photography – duh! I love music, especially blues and soul, hiking, camping, entertaining friends at home, and above all other things spending quiet time at home with Matt, Elizabeth and new arrival Duncan.
Fun fact (about myself): While vacationing in Scotland a couple of years ago I decided to track down the ruins of my husband’s ancestral castle in the tiny village of Kilmacolm, not far outside of Glasgow. With directions in hand that were no clearer than, “the castle sits where the green and blackety waters meet,” I had to employ a little door knocking through the countryside to find Duchal Castle. I finally arrived at the door of a sheep farmer who welcomed me in and said, “you must be a Porterfield.” He gave me clear directions to the castle, which was rumored to be haunted by a monk who was excommunicated for his womanizing and whiskey drinking. In fact, it was the Porterfields who had tattled on him. I took lots of photos of the ruins and castle grounds, including one of myself standing at the entrance of the castle. And, standing right next to me in the photo is a glowing-red, cloak-wearing apparition. If you’d like to see this and other ghostly photos I shot on this trip just ask. I’d love to share.
