She's the first one in every morning and the last one out each evening. Out of her own accord, she works evenings and weekends. She is said to embody the traits of one of the Lower Mainland's most beloved late journalists.
Jennifer Thuncher, The Squamish Chief's editor, has been awarded the first-ever Shelley Fralic Award from the Jack Webster Foundation.
Fralic was known for her tenures as executive editor and as a popular columnist for The Vancouver Sun.
One of the members of the The Shelley Fralic Award jury, Peg Fong, said that Thuncher was chosen for this recognition because she embodied Fralic's spirit — a tireless advocate for her community and a person who gave chances for others to shine.
"I can see a lot of similarities in the way that people in Squamish see Jen and the way that people…saw Shelley, and the love that she had for reporting, and telling stories in the community," said Fong, who was hired for her first job out of journalism school by Fralic.
"I think that that's why this award is particularly meaningful for those of us who kn[e]w Shelley Fralic, who worked for her at The Vancouver Sun."
Fong, who was Thuncher's instructor at Langara College, said she continues to hold her up as a guidepost for students at the school.
"I use Jen Thuncher as an example for a lot of people coming into the journalism program where they're like, 'Do you think I should come into journalism?'" she said. "Or, 'Can I do journalism and still maintain my part-time job, or still maintain my full-time job, or still maintain my relationship with my family?' And I said, 'Listen, I had a student who came into the program. She had kids, she had a family, and she had a life. And she decided that in her 40s, this is really what she had wanted to do. And she did it.'"
Fong said that while Thuncher was not the best student right away, her determination and willingness to learn more than made up for that.
She recalled on one occasion where, as a student, Thuncher felt uncomfortable on a particularly challenging assignment. Nevertheless, it didn't prevent her from pushing herself into new territory.
"The thing I remember most about Jen is telling her, 'You know what, if you do this, it will change you.'…And she came back. And she told me it did," Fong said.
Thuncher's determination as a student is a trait she's now imparting to freshly-minted journalism school students. Langara, among other journalism schools, has placed a number of interns under her watch over the years.
"Jen is really a huge mentor for many of the people who've kind of gone through journalism, not quite sure, you know, have maybe lost a little bit of the enthusiasm or the passion for it, and Jen has always been able to kind of re-instill that kind of, 'This is why we're doing what we do,'" Fong said.
Fong was not the only one impressed by Thuncher’s tenacity.
Frances Bula, who also taught Thuncher at Langara, said she was impressed at her then-student’s dedication to her civics course.
In Bula’s class, students were assigned a municipality to report on. Three months after the course was finished, Thuncher was still tweeting the news from Burnaby city hall.
“I was sending her notes saying, ‘Jen, you can stop now’…I’ll never forget that,” she said. “She was just like, so freaking fierce.”
Bula said that after Thuncher left school, she continued to impress.
“I've never seen anyone work so hard at freelancing and, you know, kind of just hanging in there, pitching stories and convincing people to let her work for them. It was really phenomenal,” she said.
Bula said Thuncher’s rise to being The Squamish Chief’s editor was a high point.
“She just epitomizes what Shelley was about, which was kind of being a voice of the community and not being some hoity-toity journalist who was, you know, better than her readers.”
It’s that spirit that made Bula nominate Thuncher for the award.
In the day-to-day grind, Thuncher has come to have a reputation for being incredibly capable, yet kind.
"I love that Jen is extremely hardworking and can be very intense about work, but is also super compassionate," said Haley Ritchie, who worked at The Squamish Chief as a reporter from 2017 to 2018.
She said that Thuncher's reporting on the toxic drug supply crisis in Squamish has been a testament to her sensitivity and talent as a journalist.
Ritchie remembered one time that she heard Thuncher speaking to a mother who had lost her child, who was about the same age as Thuncher's young adult children.
She was able to be an empathetic listener on a heavy, complicated topic that required the interviewer to hold it together.
"I admire that so much," said Ritchie. "I think of it often when I'm working as a reporter. Because it's such a fine line. Sometimes it's like, opening yourself up to people, but also being able to get the story out."
Keili Bartlett, a reporter with The Squamish Chief from 2019 to 2020, said one of the highlights of working with Thuncher has been her team-based approach to reporting.
"She goes above and beyond to make each member of that team feel valued," said Bartlett. "Even though I don't work with her anymore, I still consider her an active mentor for me."
She also noted how Thuncher has shared her passion, making time to talk about journalism with students in local schools.
Sarah Strother, The Squamish Chief's publisher, called Jen one of the most committed and humble editors she's ever worked with.
"She's always the first to run off to an event that's happening, whether it's breaking news or just important events in the community," said Strother.
"She just loves being a part of what's going on in Squamish and doing good journalism, and has outstanding judgments and empathy for people, which, I think, shines through in her work and her reporting."
Thuncher will receive the inaugural Shelley Fralic Award at the Webster Awards Announcement of Finalists Cocktail & Canape Reception on Sept. 20.
