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Wise wordsmith
5/30/2012 10:31:56 AM
By Craig Howard
Splash Editor
If you recall reading an especially creative advertisement for a certain downtown Spokane retailer in the late 1980s, chances are that Dan Hansen wrote it.
Hansen began his career as a communicator in the copywriting office of the Crescent Department Store in 1986 after moving with his wife, Pam, from the Seattle area. He would go on to establish himself as one of the region's most accomplished journalists, working 21 years for the Spokesman-Review before leaving in 2009 to accept a job with the Spokane Teachers Credit Union as a senior communications officer.
These days, from the SCTU home office on Signal Road in Liberty Lake, Hansen types up press releases, sends out internal communications and churns out copy for a daily e-newsletter. The work may not be the same as covering local government or the environment as he did for years with the Review, but Hansen said the job has different rewards.
"I loved working at the newspaper, and I wouldn't have left unless I'd found another company that was engaged in the community and making a difference," he said.
After contributing freelance articles to the Review in 1987, Hansen was offered a paid internship and eventually latched on as a staff reporter in 1989. He said his experience in the retail field provided him with much of the training he would need as a journalist, even when he was writing about the color schemes of the latest home accessory. Advertisement
"Before I worked at the Crescent, I was a poor speller and a slow typist," Hansen said. "I had never even worked on a computer before. I had to work and collaborate with co-workers in an office setting. I know it helped me become a better reporter."
At the Review, Hansen wrote about local education, Spokane County commissioners and natural resources, among other topics. In June of 1995, he spent a month traversing the Columbia River, reporting on political and social aspects surrounding Washington's most recognized tributary. The experience would translate into more than a dozen front-page stories.
Some of Hansen's first assignments out of the Review's Valley office included coverage of the Liberty Lake Sewer and Water District. He recalls talking with LLSWD pioneer Denny Ashlock about the strides that had been made to restore Liberty Lake from the effect of algae blooms. The LLSWD building on Mission Avenue is named after the late Ashlock, who supported many civic endeavors and was integral in efforts to build the Centennial Trail.
"When I think of Liberty Lake, I think of Denny Ashlock," Hansen said. "He was so proud of what the community had done to clean up the lake."
When Ashlock passed away from a heart arrhythmia in 1998 at the age of 59, Hansen wrote the story and successfully campaigned for its placement on the front page.
"I wrote about what he meant to the community and to all the people who probably didn't know his name," Hansen said.
Hansen and his family live in Millwood, where he is active in the community, volunteering at the local Farmers Market and helping out with the West Valley High School Band Boosters. His son, Kyle, is a sophomore at the school.
Hansen grew up on the west side of the state in Maple Valley, just south of Issaquah, a town he remembers as more rural than urban. In high school, he was active in cross country and track but, on the academic side, recalls "not applying myself enough to be a good student."
He would go on to attend Central Washington University with a career notion that leaned toward "doing something with writing."
After the first round of layoffs begin to hit the Review in 2001, Hansen understood that the landscape of print journalism was shifting. The daily paper's staff, he said, is now less than half of what it was when he began as a reporter.
"The economics didn't pan out as far as the newspaper went," he said. "I was looking for the next great thing, and I think I found it."
When Hansen began with STCU in 2009, the credit union had approximately 75,000 members and around 300 employees. These days, the staff is closer to 500 with a membership of more than 100,000. Hansen is one of over 200 workers who call the Liberty Lake office home.
Hansen still covers a variety of topics in his role at STCU, including unique articles on country fairs and 10 vacations within 200 miles of Spokane that have been featured in the pages of the company's quarterly publication. He also spends time on government issues that affect the credit union.
"When I was a reporter, there were a few places like Whitworth University and some school districts that seemed like they'd be good places to work," Hansen said. "STCU was on that list. I knew something about their values. It's a company out to make this a better place to live."
Profiles:
Dan Hansen
Age
50
Family
Wife, Pam; daughter, Kelly; son, Kyle
Over the past year
Lost 25 pounds following STCU wellness program
Favorite game
Cribbage
Unique honor
Pacific Northwest Society of Professional Journalist award for coverage of the recovering ecosystem after Mt. St. Helens.
Favorite book
"Old Man and the Sea"
Favorite travel destination
Washington, D.C.
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