Jim Votruba was involved with LINK nky even before I was.
When I was recruited to help with writing a business plan and determining if LINK could be a viable business, as well as the voice of Northern Kentucky, I was building on years of work that Jim, along with a team of other business and nonprofit leaders, had already done.
It should come as no surprise that Jim was involved in launching LINK – his name is (rightly) associated with so much good that has happened in Northern Kentucky, starting with his transformative work at Northern Kentucky University. By the time I moved to the area, Jim’s presidency at NKU was nearing its end, so I always knew of him more through his work in the community than in that role.
Other folks will be better to remember all the work that Jim did outside of LINK, but the deep affection and respect that I, and the rest of the LINK team, feel for him comes from his direct involvement in our incubation, launch and growth.
Jim joined our Editorial Board immediately after we were founded in 2021, serving as an important voice in the development of our coverage, analysis of the stories we were writing and the issues we were facing. He also served as a symbol of our credibility. Anyone who knew Jim knew that he would not attach his name to an unworthy cause, or an organization that was going to do a disservice to his adopted home. That credibility was invaluable in our formative years.
On the editorial board, Jim was a strong voice. Not a loud one, as anyone who has spent time him understands. Jim did not have to raise his voice or get excited to be heard. His opinions came at their own pace, but once delivered, had the ability to completely change your perspective on a topic or reveal some nuance that you had not considered, but he never wandered into condescension or I-told-you-so’s, even when he could have.
I’m a hotshot startup type, moving fast and making decisions quickly. Being in Jim’s presence and seeing a very different type of leadership – one that was deeply thoughtful and informed – helped me grow as a leader, and as a member of the NKY community. In our editorial board meetings, Jim always had something insightful to offer. Often, he’d have difficult questions for us – always delivered in the same kind, measured tone – that made us think more critically about our choices of coverage, wording, tone and approach.
Jim was an essential part of our foundation, our team. Without him, LINK would not be as good as we are today, and his legacy will live on every time we tell ourselves to slow down and think more about how and why we’re doing what we are doing. That counterbalance in the fast pace of the news is critical, and I’m so glad we had as long as we did with Jim to learn it from him.
What I will miss most about Jim, however, is his deep belief in what we are doing at LINK. He never missed an opportunity to tell us how important our work is to NKY, and that it is vital to our shared community. Just a couple of weeks ago, Jim told me he had to step down from our editorial board due to some health issues. I knew this was a decision he did not make lightly, and he said he hoped to return soon. In closing, ever kind and generous, he wrote “You and your team are an inspiration in your commitment to this work.”
That kind of support, kindness and generosity is hard to find in today’s world, especially coming from someone as important to our community as Jim. With his passing, it is our responsibility to continue live up to his high standards, to ask ourselves the hard questions, to think deeply about our work, and to honor Jim’s contributions to our founding and growth.
