Stack them all up, and those Sunday papers were taller than she was.
That was when Brittany Merrill was 12 and had just started her paper route in Brookhaven.
She delivered The Dominion Post through her years at Morgantown High School.
Rain.
Snow.
Numbingly cold mornings, contrasted with those other days when you just knew it was going to be 90 degrees by noon.
It was her face you saw when it was time to collect, and her face you saw, if say, you were an early, early riser who liked perusing The DP with your coffee while the rest of world was snoozing.
These days, Merrill is still delivering the news of Morgantown and Monongalia County to a different degree.
The veteran employee of the circulation department was named circulation manager, replacing Rich Goodwin, who left recently to pursue another opportunity.
In the news business, where there are often no absolutes or clear-cut answers, this hire was an easy one, Publisher David Raese said.
The new manager, he said, knows what is currently working — with a good, intuitive eye of what’s to come.
“Brittany has a combination of having experience in our department but also is wanting to try new ideas,” Raese said.
“She has been the department’s representative in our digital discussions and I felt she was the best fit for the position,” the publisher continued.
“We are looking forward to see what Brittany implements to better service our customers.”
Workday narrative
“Implementation,” is the watchword for the employee who joined the department in 2007 and immediately put her talents — plus her business administration degree from West Virginia Junior College — to work.
From that first day, she dove in, coordinating and helping manage all those delivery routes. Reports and EXCEL spreadsheets were the orders of the day.
She learned circulation numbers, newsprint costs, how many miles encompassed each delivery route — and how all those numbers translate into the business narrative of day-to-day at The Dominion Post.
Along the way, she staffed and oversaw the newspaper’s multi-line switchboard and occasionally bustling reception area.
On top of everything else, she also moved into the job of The Dominion Post’s Newspaper in Education coordinator, helping introduce elementary school students to their hometown paper, for that all-important “first draft of history” journalism awareness.
The customer service part came easily. She was a fast-food cashier who trained new employees while soothing the sometimes-ire of the person who ordered this — but got that, by mistake.
She also volunteered at a soup kitchen, where she prepared meals for those less-fortunate while simply listening to their stories.
Getting it honestly
Her math prowess, she gets from her dad, Mike, a contractor and mechanic “who can fix anything,” as his daughter proudly notes.
Her touch with people comes from her mom, Kim, who also happens to be quite book-smart, Merrill reports.
“She’s the reason I passed English,” the circulation manager said, chuckling.
Merrill was raising her son and two daughters as a single mom when she called Goodwin 14 years ago for a job.
“I had actually asked Rich for a route driver position,” she remembered. “I was a young mom and I needed to bring in some extra money to the household.”
Goodwin knew she delivered the paper as a kid and that she was good with cost ledgers and customer service.
“Rich said, ‘You know, we could probably use you in circulation.’ And here we are.”
New projects – proven methods
In her new role, as Raese said, she’s working to leverage the digital product of the paper to a new generation of news consumers.
That’s of course while still respecting the readers who enjoy the crinkle of the newsprint with their coffee and the fact that it might be delivered by an enterprising young person — much like she was.
“There’s a lot we’re going to do,” she said, especially in relation to digital delivery. “It’s exciting.”
She likes that the paper is able to coexist in both worlds, she said, while continuing to bring the news of the day — and the analysis and context behind it — to the region, now, well into the 21st century.
Meanwhile, her children are also excited for their mom.
Jordan, her son, is now 16. Her daughters, Alexis and Brianna, are 13 and 14 respectively.
Merrill’s employment with The Dominion Post has been in their lives for as long as they can remember.
“They’ve started calling me, ‘Boss Lady,’ ” Merrill said.
While she’s getting new business cards, don’t expect a lot of other job-ladder trappings.
Should you visit The Dominion Post’s offices in the Greer Building, and should you happen upon the Circulation Department to discuss your subscription, her face is still the first one there you’ll see.
Merrill is keeping that cubicle and eschewing an office and new phone extension.
“That way I’m here for our readers,” she said. “That’s what works.”
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