Outgoing UC Observer editor Wilson uses final column to thank his writers

David Wilson's final column as publisher and editor of the UC Observer in the end was a thank you to a writer whose first person story about health care has caused a good deal of talk. 

Catherine Gordon of Toronto wrote about her own struggle with breast cancer and the almost eerie coincidence that her sister in California was struggling with the same thing at the same time; their respective financial burdens were much different, however. And Gordon let Wilson know that as a result of her article, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders's staff had contacted her about filming an interview for a documentary as part of his campaign to get single payer health coverage in his country. 

Wilson's final column as editor said, in part:

"Thirty years ago, I was drawn to The Observer because it was a mission-driven magazine committed to fostering a healthier and more just world. As editor and publisher for the past 11 years, I’ve had the privilege of broadening the scope of the magazine while holding fast to those principles — and to do so in the company of extraordinary colleagues to whom I owe an enormous debt of gratitude.  

"Catherine Gordon’s story was shaped by the values that inform just about everything we print in The Observer. We still speak to a mainly United Church audience, but it’s extremely gratifying when people outside our immediate sphere see merit in what we do — doubly so when people like Bernie Sanders reach out in common cause."

 Wilson is being succeeded in January by Jocelyn Bell.