Chat at 11 a.m.

In mere minutes, I am going to have the first Google Talk chat session on Fresh Talk. These will become a regular feature of Fresh Talk, so be sure to sign up for Google Talk and you can participate in the future. Today I will visit with Pamela R of The Packer.....


TK: Pamela was good to be the first Fresh Talk chat interview. I hope to make the chat session a regular feature, with discussion group members, newsmakers and industry leaders taking part as they choose. Here is the link to the newly minted Fresh Talk chat archive,

tckarst: Good morning Pamela

me: Hello1

tckarst: I picked u as the first chat session because u are one of the most colorful people I know

me: Thanks. I never realized I'm so colorful until people started telling me.

tckarst: Where did you grow up

me: I grew up in a small town of about 81 people called Brumley, Mo. Fortunately, we were close to the resort areas near the Lake of the Ozarks, so it wasn't that bad.

tckarst: Very nice. Water ski fiend, I presume?

me: I learned when I was about 7. I got up the first time I tried.

tckarst: I know you have background as a photographer - give us a thumbnail sketch of your education path...

me: I really got into photography in high school, with the newspaper and the year book -- it was all very predictable. My grandfather also had always been the "family photographer." When I showed an interest, he gave me his old Olympus OM-1. Having a "real camera" like that one really got me going.

tckarst: I loved the OM1 - I have one too

me: I actually have two now. One that works and one for parts. They're not known for their durability.

Anyway, I had a little bit of a colorful incident in high school journalism class -- I got kicked out! -- that made me want to study it at the collegiate level.

tckarst: How in the world??

me: Well, at the end of my junior year, the seniors were all ready to get out of there and one wrote a, shall we say, colorful? story about a teacher that was disguised as a story. I had it in my hands at the paste-up board when the teacher figured it out. She kicked me out right then and there.

So, I said to myself, fine. I'll go to the No. 1 Journalism school in the country and show her.

And I did.

tckarst: Funny - and so you did

For our readers sake, you r talking about K-State, right?

me: Uhh...no. University of Missouri, baby. We may have crooks for basketball players and a football team that chokes when the big one comes around, but at least our J-school still is pretty good.

tckarst: OK From there how did you and The Packer intersect?

Sent at 11:13 AM on Friday

me: Well, after a couple of years at community newspapers in Texas, my husband, Brian, and I decided to move to Kansas so he could go to law school and I could be near family. I worked for a year at K-State -- see? I have no prejudice. After my contract was up, I was looking and found The Packer. I guess I had what they wanted -- a photographer who knows how to write.

Sent at 11:15 AM on Friday

tckarst: Now you are back in Texas - what do you miss about the office working in the field? I know I miss your regular OBF food treats!

me: I definitely miss seeing everyone every day. As you know, I'm pretty talkative. Now it's just me and my dog and cat. I keep up with everyone with a stream of emails.

tckarst: And the industry has gotten to know the inside of your kitchen. How did Pamela's kitchen get started and are you still having fun with it?

Sent at 11:18 AM on Friday

me: I think our editor, Lance, might have gotten the idea because when I was in the office, I was always bringing in weird produce things and making everyone try them. Little did he know when he pitched the idea to me, I had actually written, filmed and edited silly videos way back in junior high so it's right up my alley.

Sent at 11:20 AM on Friday

tckarst: They are fun - including the sqeezy produce rating system - what''s the most memorable one so far and do you have any coming up?

me: I think the first one will be the most memorable for me simply because it happened almost exactly as I thought it would -- with products exploding in the microwave and all. I don't script anything so it's fun to see what really happens.

Well, today, I'm doing a salsa kit. You're supposed to just put it in the blender and go.

My blender is pretty powerful, though so I'm worried I might get salsa smoothie.

tckarst: A blender - that could be interesting...

me: I have two of the kits so I might do one in my food processor, too.

tckarst: Now tell us about your work with the produceguru, er fruit and veggie guru....

me: Well, Vance Publishing, our parent company, launched the fruitandveggie guru back in May. Today is our first day as fruitandveggieguru.com.

tckarst: Is it true ou have been the spokesperson about the romantic attributes of produce?

me: Actually, yes. The fruits and veggies of love.

Little did we know that the humble asparagus could be so...suggestive.

Sent at 11:25 AM on Friday

tckarst: But it is a testament to your ability to engage, and it will be fun to see you quoted in various stories - you will send me the clips, right?

me: Of course. I'm glad to get the opportunity because even when I first started with the Packer, I always thought that the regular Joe's out there would really benefit from knowing some of the stuff that we do, you know? It's not fair for us to have all the inside information.

I was always blabbing about how things are grown and the different varieties of apples or citrus.

tckarst: Maybe we'll see you on TV, too

me: We'll see about that. It hasn't happened yet, but it could. The hair! The makeup! Oh.. so many things to worry about.

Sent at 11:28 AM on Friday

tckarst: Pamela . thanks for making time. We'll have you back soon and get some of our blog readers to get their shot. When's your next travel for The Packer?

me: I head up to the frozen tundra of the Twin Cities in Minnesota for the Know Your Market section in April. Then I'll be in Calgary for CPMA.

tckarst: Keep warm - I can relate. I'm headed to Russa next week.

me: Yikes! Get one of those fuzzy hats!

tckarst: Will do. Thanks again.

me: Take care.