Hudson's Blog

Feb 18, 2008 - Sadly, Another Obituary

The other night, I was saddened to hear of the passing someone important to me. After my father, he was one of the most influential men in my life. His name was Stanley Stephenson and he was well-known in the automotive publishing world.

I met Stan when I was about 10 or 12. My uncle introduced me to him as they were old friends. As a lifelong automotive enthusiast, I was so excited to meet the editor of a car magazine and I’m sure I talked his ear off at the time. I ran into him once in a while when we would visit my uncle, but it wasn’t until I moved to Philadelphia that he made a real impact in my life.

In 1992, I moved to Philly and started working auditing welfare cases. After a month or so, I realized that this job would not provide enough challenge for me and I started looking for a new career path. I read about a company in West Chester that provided automotive information to car magazines, so I looked into them. Hoping that Stan could provide even more information, I called him. He said that he knew of the guy in charge of the company but didn’t know him personally. Stan told me that Bill, the owner of the company in question, wouldn’t hire me because of my lack of experience. However, he told me of another person who might give me a chance; the publisher at Chilton Book Company.

My interview at Chilton was hard on my nerves. I wanted to work there but I had very limited hands-on experience compared to the established editors. I met with about six senior editors over my hour-long interview. In one meeting, one of the senior editors said “if Stan recommended him, that’s good enough for me.” It was on my ride home that this statement hit me and I realized that they would be making me an offer, simply because Stan was my reference. I’m not sure that I ever really thanked him for that. I worked at Chilton for the next five years.

I will miss running into Stan at car shows and reading his articles in various publications. A piece of him comes out whenever I write one of my articles. He has been very influential in my career and, as was Stan's way, I hope to pay-it-forward when the opportunity arises.

Stan called me up just a few months ago to tell me that he was cleaning out his library and wanted to know if I wanted any of his books. He presented me with a small box of books and press kits. While others might not appreciate the growth in my automotive library, I appreciate his contribution and, sadly, I’ll remember that brief visit as our last meeting.

6:50 am | Categories: stan stephenson, stanley stephenson, car people, chilton, journalists, magazines Permalink | Alert Administrator

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