Autumn Years Fall 2023

This prompted Paul to build an online presence as a writer. He reached out to the editor in chief of It’s About the Mon ey , a New York Yankees blog, to inquire about writing opportunities. Paul joined the team shortly thereafter and was hap py to have an audience. After writing for the blog for about six months, Paul learned the editor was shutting it down. In what he calls his “Andrew Carnegie moment,” Paul asked the editor if he could buy the blog. To his delight, the editor told Paul he could have the blog—as long as he changed the name. In 2017, Paul rebranded the blog as Start Spreading the News and took over as editor in chief while continuing to write content. His son Ethan became the managing editor. “We have a great team of writers,” notes Paul. One of the chang es he and Ethan made was to create a schedule for the blog’s writers to post articles rather than just posting them whenever they wanted. This ensures a steady stream of new content every day about Yankees news, analysis, commen tary and history. Since its 2017 relaunch, kids—to you. It is awe inspiring and humbling and something that also makes you say, ‘what an honor this is’.” “When you’re principal of a school, there are 400-500 kids whose families trust their most precious possessions—their

bit of the work. “When you’re princi pal of a school, there are 400-500 kids whose families trust their most pre cious possessions—their kids—to you. It is awe inspiring and humbling and something that also makes you say, ‘what an honor this is’. There’s nothing that compares to working with kids,” he says. Paul found all the educators he worked with over the years to be inspir ing but says the teachers at Ridgewood’s Hawes Elementary School are unlike any he has worked with. “They are com mitted to kids, happy, fun, kind and dynamic, and the parental support in Ridgewood is tops,” says Paul. “The only more committed teacher I’ve known is my wife Laurie,” he adds. When Paul enrolled in his first gradu ate program, he and Laurie had two little boys and another on the way. He quick ly realized the only way he could go to school, work full time and be a present father was to get up at 4am every day and do his schoolwork before he headed off to work. It is a schedule he continued the rest of his professional career. He still gets up early every day, just not as early. Paul is still an adjunct professor at Ramapo College where he teaches edu cation courses. He is an accomplished public speaker who has presented at numerous educational conferences and churches, including Grace United Meth odist Church in Wyckoff where he has assisted with services from time to time for nearly 30 years. He has completed 24 marathons and counting, including nine

Paul at Hawes Elementary School in Ridgewood. He loved being the principal of that great school.

New York City Marathons. He most re cently ran the Pittsburgh Marathon with son, Ryan. He is currently participating in a year-long program to read The Bible from cover to cover, something he has always wanted to do. He also reads a lot, especially history books and has started writing the manuscript for a unique look at the Battle of Gettysburg. Paul has always enjoyed writing and had written a novel and some children’s books but was finding it impossible to get published despite becoming involved in writers’ organizations, attending events for writers, submitting query let ters to publishers and contacting literary agents. Finally, one literary agent was frank with him. “You’re nobody,” the agent told Paul, “You have to be some body to get published.”

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FALL 2023 I AUTUMN YEARS