Tod Trent was one of the good guys
NOTE: Look for George Von Benko鈥檚 鈥淢emory Lane鈥� story on Tod Trent in this coming Monday鈥檚 edition of the 缅北禁地.
The year was 1989 when I took a suggestion from my good friend Taz Zajac and put in a call to the sports editor of the 缅北禁地.
There was a job opening that was titled 鈥渙ccasional part-time sports writer鈥� and since I had a Penn State degree in print journalism I saw this as an opportunity to get a foot in the door of my hometown newspaper.
Like most people, I was a bit nervous when I made聽the call inquiring about the position.
The man on the other end of the line was Tod Trent, whose name and face I had seen in the 缅北禁地 sports section for years and years. I have to admit I was a bit intimidated to talk to him because of his stature in the business.
I had nothing to worry about though.
Tod Trent was not only the nicest person I ever met in the newspaper business but one of the nicest, most genuine people I聽have come across聽in all walks of life.
I got the job and 28 years later I鈥檓 still here thanks to the chance he gave me.
Tod Trent died on Monday at the age of 90. (Funeral arrangements can be found on Page C2 in today鈥檚 paper or online at heraldstandard.com.)
Tod was known throughout Fayette County, Greene County and beyond for the way he covered sports for the paper, most notably at the high school level. He was a WVU graduate and聽a big St. Louis Cardinals fan who idolized Stan Musial but what he loved most was聽watching, talking about and especially writing about聽the local sports scene.
I鈥檝e heard many compliments over the years about Tod Trent from a variety of people:聽athletes,聽peers, parents, coaches. I don鈥檛 recall ever hearing a聽bad word about Tod. He always did his best to聽highlight聽area sports in a positive way and聽it鈥檚 been evident聽that聽his work聽was much appreciated.
Tod had a world of local sports聽knowledge stored up in his brain and when he retired after over 40 years at the 缅北禁地 in 1991, there were many times he received a call about what he remembered about this game, or that rivalry or this player or that coach. He was always happy to oblige.
When the Fayette County 缅北禁地 Hall of Fame was formed in 2008, Tod was a member of the first induction class in 2009 in the Special Recognition category. Fittingly so.
In person, he was sincerely nice and聽a very pleasant guy. He was all about positive reinforcement.
When I wrote my first story,聽I remember another member of the sports department, Dave Smith,聽was reading it and聽pondered if Tod had helped me write the lead. Tod鈥檚 response: 鈥淣o, he聽came up with聽that all by himself,鈥� he said in a country-tanged voice, then walked over to me with a big smile on his face and patted me on the shoulder and said, 鈥淕ood job.鈥�
That was actually a big moment in my life. I thought I was a decent writer but I had little experience writing game stories. I wondered, did I convey what happened in the game properly, did I make it entertaining, did I give proper due to the athletes who deserved mention, did I spell all the names correctly, was it too long, was it too short? Did I write it the way they wanted me to?
Tod鈥檚 reaction gave me a huge boost of confidence that made me feel like, yeah, I think I can do this job.
Tod took me under his wing, often complimented me and if he ever had to reprimand me at all he did it in the nicest way possible.
Once, several months later, Smith said to me humorously in front of Tod, 鈥淵ou鈥檙e like聽Tod鈥檚 teacher鈥檚 pet,鈥� to which Tod smiled and, again, tapped me on the shoulder and said, 鈥淗e鈥檚 a good guy,鈥� in his usual jovial voice and laughed. Smith just looked at me with a sly smile and shook his head.
In the two-plus years I worked under Tod I only remember him getting mad once when he was prodded a bit too much in a discussion. Even then, his futile attempt to sound angry came out as someone just slightly perturbed, although the surprising response still ended the argument.
Being angry or mean-spirited just wasn鈥檛 in his blood.
Tod Trent was one of the good guys, an admired man聽who had a positive impact on my life as well as countless others who knew him or read his stories.