Watershed Voice will be celebrating its three-year anniversary on Saturday, a feat that was hard earned and accomplished through the contributions of many. With that in mind, we reached out to several of those valued contributors for their thoughts on Watershed Voice some 1,094 days after its launch on April 8, 2020.
Over the last three years the online news magazine has provided local news coverage in St. Joseph, Cass, and Kalamazoo counties. Watershed Voice continues to publish five days a week on local topics in the areas of social justice, local government, mental health, placemaking, and community events. “We live here, we work here, and what matters to our community matters to us,” Watershed’s website states. “We will always choose people over profit, truth over popularity, and doing the right thing even when it’s hard.”
*culture is not optional Executive Director and Main Street Media Group board secretary Rob Vander Giessen-Reitsma has been involved with the nonprofit news organization since its inception. Rob had this to say regarding the upcoming anniversary. “Watershed Voice is important to me because it is more important than ever to have local outlets covering local stories, giving a platform to local voices (particularly marginalized voices), exploring topics of local interest, and facilitating local conversations. No one can tell the stories of our community better than we can. The annual Artist Showcase has become a favorite event every summer, highlighting the diverse and extraordinary talent of our neighbors. I can’t wait for this year’s showcase.”
Three Rivers Mayor Tom Lowry, who along with Vander Giessen-Reitsma and Executive Editor and Publisher Alek Haak-Frost founded WSV, echoed Rob’s sentiments saying the publication provides a necessary and important service. “Especially in world where local-originated news coverage is disappearing, Three Rivers absolutely needs more local coverage and Watershed Voice offers that.”
Main Street Media Group board member, columnist, and psychotherapist Charles Thomas shared his thoughts on why he believes independent journalism is crucial: ““The first piece I ever wrote for Watershed Voice was on why it was so important. In that piece, written at the beginning of the pandemic, I noted how many lives might have been saved had the virus originated in a country with a free press that held its leaders to account for their actions instead of in China. The press exists to speak truth to power. When it does, justice gets served and lives are saved. We can no longer get by with just corporate media who can feel pressured to shield their advertisers from bad press. We need independent media like Watershed now more than ever. I’m proud to be a part of the solution focused journalism of Watershed Voice and excited to celebrate its third anniversary.”
Amy Davidhizar has been a subscriber and supporter of Watershed Voice since 2020, and has contributed columns since 2021. She describes why she is passionate about the content Watershed creates and curates saying, ““I love the articles on mental health. There’s so much talk about ‘mental health matters’ yet Watershed Voice is the only one bringing us stories of the PAWS clinic and how mental health is impacted within caregivers. They shine a light on mental health concerns within our own community. No one else does this.”
Podcast creator and Main Street Media Group co-chair Dan Moyle said, ““Local journalism like Watershed Voice means my community is served by people who live here and who focus on issues that matter to us locally. I appreciate the care they take to see all sides of a story, and bring me as a reader facts so I get to make my own decisions.”
Three Rivers At-Large Commissioner and Watershed Voice columnist Torrey Brown touched on his own reasons for his support saying, “My favorite memory of Watershed Voice over the years has been the constant push to allow for a platform for people who never had one. Watershed gave me space to speak my truths and never censored me from my poetry to my column ‘Tuesdays with Torrey,’ and even the Artist Showcases.”
Watershed Voice columnist and board member, author, voice actor, poet, and community activist Aundrea Sayrie has been an asset to the organization, lending her words and voice to a range of topics, most recently through a series for Black History Month. On Watershed’s importance and potential Sayrie said, “Watershed Voice is unwavering in its mission to serve and represent every voice in this community. Watershed shows up on the front lines and in the trenches to cover territory other news organizations wouldn’t dare step foot into. They willingly face criticism standing up for what they believe in and I respect that. I admire that. Additionally, Watershed Voice has been a catalyst of growth for me. Not only helping me find and shape my own voice, but also by restoring my hope in the goodness of others. Watershed Voice’s potential is limitless and there is no doubt in my mind that we”ll see its positive impact long into the future.”
Debbie Allen is a poet, author, veteran, and Watershed Voice columnist and board member. She has performed her poetry at Watershed’s annual Artist Showcase each year, and reflected on how the experience has shaped her saying: “I will never forget my first Watershed Voice Artist Showcase. I was nervous and shaky, but Alek was front and center encouraging me forward. I was not the best, and I’m pretty sure I forgot a line or two, but I left that night knowing one thing: I didn’t have to be the best — I just needed to be heard. Watershed Voice continues to be that opportunity for me and for others in our community with stories and expressions waiting to be shared. To three years and counting…HAPPY ANNIVERSARY Watershed Voice!!”
This year’s Artist Showcase is set to return on July 15 at 6 p.m. at The Huss Project in Three Rivers. General admission will be $5 and will include a 50/50 raffle and performances from local artists and friends of Watershed Voice from around the Midwest. There will be limited seating provided but guests are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs. The third annual showcase will feature music, poetry, and standup comedy containing explicit language. So while all ages are welcome, Watershed Voice leaves the decision to the discretion of parents as to whether the concert is appropriate for their children.
Beca Welty is a staff writer and columnist for Watershed Voice.
