But what would Walter say?

For a little over an hour yesterday, I was taking notes as fast as my hands could move my pen across my note pad. The American Numismatic Association announced its decision to fire executive director Christopher Cipoletti. I was attending the public portion of the board meeting.

At that point, I want to yell, “Stop. That’s enough. I have this week’s front page.” But for the ANA board of governors, they had a large number of other tasks at hand during this first meeting where everyone is together since the Milwaukee, Wis., convention in August. They had to provide that information also.

I ended up filing three stories with the office. One was about the firing and the task of finding a new executive director. A second story was about other business. If not for being in the shadow of the firing, the other business would have been the front page material. The ANA canceled the San Francisco museum project, which would have put a 7,800 square foot ANA museum in the Old San Francisco Mint. This follows an Oct. 2 decision to cancel the Washington museum plans. Now only a possible enlargement of the Colorado Springs, Colo., museum is still under active consideration, but that could bite the dust too for lack of funds.

What I didn’t get to do was talk to Walter Ostromecki to find out how it feels to see this day come. He was removed as a member of the board of governors just two years ago at the October board sessions. Many ANA members were outraged and they had their way when they voted to return him to office in this year’s election. My third story was about Walter’s emergency kidney stone surgery in Colorado Springs. I am told he is OK.

Three stories are not a bad afternoon’s work.