Garry Boulard has clearly made it as a journalist and author having published in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor as well as authoring seven well-received books in the genre of historical nonfiction. He even has his own Wikipedia page—a true sign of success for our times.
Yet Boulard, like the business owners he interviews for Construction Reporter, is nothing if not humble. He is one of those remarkable individuals who has cultivated a habit of gratitude—a feeling he often expresses for his solid gig as lead freelance writer at Construction Reporter. His steady flow of newsfeeds and weekly features source much of the content for the online news service.
Boulard came into his first journalism gig in his early 20′s. He was walking in the mall, playing hooky from a factory job on an assembly line when he saw an ad for a reporter in a freebie newspaper. He said he was dumbstruck by the idea that you could apply for a job as a journalist, and when he walked into the newspaper office it was like a scene from the 1890’s.
“The guy had a roll top desk and a room full of papers—everything was falling apart. His wife was in the back putting the paper together with what they used to call a “cold type press.” She was literally laying out the press by hand with this big, giant old thing that you could probably only see in the Smithsonian today.
“The guy turned to me, said he was looking for human interest stories—and that he’d pay $20 per article and give me a byline if I could find something interesting. I said, ‘I’ll give it a try.’ He published my first story on the front page—with my name right there. I got my little $20 check and said, ‘that’s it—I’m a journalist!’”
Prior to his time at Construction Reporter, Boulard worked as a staff writer for the prestigious Tulanian Magazine out of Tulane University, New Orleans. Following that he began his career as a freelance writer, publishing in a multitude of magazines, journals, and newspapers across the country and publishing seven well-received books, including one on President Franklin Pierce, another on jazz musician Louis Prima, and perhaps his best known title: Huey Long Invades New Orleans.
Four months before Katrina hit, Boulard moved to New Mexico to be ‘”out in the big open sky with the mountains.” He began writing for Construction Reporter when the bottom dropped out of the economy. Working in the writing profession, which has perhaps been hit as hard as the construction industry, Garry has great respect and empathy for the men and women he profiles.
“The people we write about are so passionate about what they’re doing–especially the ones who’ve started their own business and fought against all the odds through the recession. I get a kind of high off those stories.”
“It makes me feel good to write about a business that’s made it, that’s gotten through this thing. That’s an “up.” Sometimes I think journalism focuses too much on the “down” stories. At Construction Reporter instead of saying “these are the problems,” we’re saying “here are the solutions.”
Check out the full article here.
For more information about Garry and his work, check out his Wikipedia page here.
About Construction Reporter
Founded in 1949 to provide New Mexico contractors with local project information, Construction Reporter has grown steadily in size and coverage area, today serving the commercial construction industry throughout the Southwest. Our mission is to help our customers succeed by delivering reliable, comprehensive, up-to-the-minute information on projects in planning and out for bid in New Mexico and the surrounding states. We are passionate about helping our member companies grow by delivering the most bidding opportunities, the most efficient bidding tools, and the most industry exposure of any news service in the region.
