Glad to have known him
By George Starks 

Don McDermott was the sports editor of the Greenville Daily Advocate from 1962 through 1966 and 1987 through 2001, has been elected to the Pahrump Valley High School (PVHS) Athletics Hall of Fame as a major community contributor. 

Don began his Pahrump Valley Times tour on May 7, 2001, after more than 40 years of working for newspapers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Delaware and North Carolina. He has covered many of the major sports events in the country, including NASCAR Winston Cup and IndyCar events such as the Brickyard 400 and Indianapolis 500, as well as the NCAA Final Four. He also wrote about Adolph Rupp's final game as the University of Kentucky basketball coach. One of his more interesting assignments was covering the World Horseshoe Pitching Championships in 1962, 1964 and 1999. For the Times, he covers the Pahrump Valley High School teams and the Southern Nevada Class 3-A League, as well as Beatty prep sports and other locally oriented events. 

It was August of 1988 and McDermott ran an ad in the Daily Advocate wanting a sports correspondent. 

Loving sports as much as I do, I answered the ad not knowing the first thing about sports journalism. 

I gave Don a call and he was gracious enough to grant me an interview. I told him I was a sports fanatic and his response is not one I can put in print. Trust me, it was not pretty but he hired me anyway. 

I figured he was hard up for help to hire someone who knew nothing about the business. 

My first assignment was the opening football game of the 1988 season, pitting Bethel at Arcanum. That was the beginning of a great career even though the story itself was a joke in itself but McDermott kept me on and encouraged me. 

When McDermott turned 70 years old, he gave me a great compliment, asking me to audition for his job at the Pahrump Valley Times as he was ready to once again retire. 

It was an honor for me to have him asking me to take his place. 

All I could think was... WOW! What an honor. 

I made the trip and spent a week in the desert with Don. I covered two events. A race at the local dirt track and a big benefit golf tournament. 

The publisher, Marie Wycheck, thought it was good and it seemed like the job was mine. I was ready to make the move. All I was waiting to get was the word to go west. Then Stevens Media threw out a hiring freeze and I was left looking in from the outside once again. Little did I know I was going to eventually be partially paralyzed and in a wheelchair. 

Now Don has been inducted into the Pahrump Valley High School (PVHS) Athletics Hall of Fame as a major community contributor. All I can say is congrats to the best sports person I will ever know. 

A lot of people did not like the man, and granted he and I had our times, but my respect for him as a professional is incredible and has now grown even more. I never thought I would have looked at this man as a friend but he is and if I had the chance to do it again, I would. 

Being trained by the best is as good as it gets. 

Don McDermott is not only a legend in Nevada but here in Greenville. McDermott told me he was already a hall of fame sports writer and now this. 

I guess the best deserves nothing but the best. 

I can honestly say I am glad to know him and no newspaper in this area will ever have that kind of quality in its newspaper again. 

Congrats Don. 

May God bless you my friend.