My memories of Goldie Begley

For four years now I’ve covered the annual Boulder City Chamber of Commerce dinner and awards night. And for four years there’s a part that always gets me a bit misty-eyed.

It happens when the awards are being announced, specifically when the aptly-named Goldie Begley Energizer Award is given out. Most of the awards are in the name of Boulder City residents who played a big part over the years in shaping this community. Sadly, most have passed on. But it’s Goldie who will always hold a special place in my heart. For those fortunate enough to know her, I’m guessing you’re nodding your head in agreement.

I met Goldie in 1985 after being hired as sports editor of the former Boulder City News. She was a Jill-of-all-trades at the paper, even back then. She was the office manager, circulation manager, receptionist, cleaning crew and eventually a sales rep. And she did each job with the passion of the Energizer Bunny. This was in addition to being wife to Harold and mom to Rick and Rob, not to mention the countless volunteer organizations and boards she was a part of.

I quickly came to realize how she got the nickname of Mother Begley. That name was definitely not given in any kind of derogatory way but in a loving one because she took us all under her wing and treated us like her own. And at barely 5 feet tall, she still managed to fit us all under those wings.

During the summers, I’d work out of the Boulder City News, which is that tiny office to the right of the Boulder City Theater. I think one summer we had five people working out of that office, which was about the size of some people’s bathrooms these days. It was there that I really got to know Goldie even better. I remember often looking at her desk and the best way to describe it was organized chaos. She had tiny pieces of scratch paper with addresses of missed deliveries, local bowling scores, messages for editor Bill Harbor (my first mentor) or someone wanting to place a classified ad. In my 40-plus years as a journalist, I apparently enjoy the same type organized chaos.

One of the things I remember about those summers was that if there were missed deliveries, Goldie would give me $5 out of petty cash to deliver them, making me the country’s highest paid paper boy, since there were usually just a few. I’d use that money to go to lunch with Bill and Goldie. They never treated me as simply the teen that I was, but as a colleague.

I asked Chamber CEO Jill Rowland-Lagan, who was very close to Goldie, when and why they created the Goldie Begley Energizer Award. She said it was started in 2012.

“She had a major impact on the business community and the chamber,” Jill told me. “Memorializing her name and legacy was important to the board of directors as a way of honoring someone who had made such a large contribution to the success of many individuals, as well as organizations and businesses. Her energy and spirit live on in many of us today.”

I truly hope the recipients of the award over the years had an opportunity to know, or at least meet its namesake.

Sadly, on Nov. 10, 2011, Goldie passed away at 69 after a long health battle following heart surgery. It’s hard to believe it’s coming up on 15 years since her death.

Her obituary in the Las Vegas Review-Journal read in part, “Goldie’s personal, unselfish and very positive community-minded contributions to Boulder City include, but most definitely are in no way limited to, being the face of the News in Boulder City for more than a quarter of a century, as circulation and office manager for over 17 years and immediately prior to her retirement as display advertising agent for HBC Publications (Henderson Home News and Boulder News’ parent company).”

I was just two months away from moving back to the mainland after 12 years in Hawaii when I got the news. It was a punch to the gut, to say the least. It had been several years since I had seen Goldie, something I still regret. I truly wish she was still with us because the world needs a little more Goldie in it.

I’d like to think she’d be proud of me for coming back after so many years to take over my hometown newspaper. We could proudly compare who had the most organized chaotic desk. My vote would be for Goldie.