Parkersburg News and Sentinel City Editor Jess Mancini in the newsroom at The Parkersburg News and Sentinel on Friday as the organization honored his retirement after 44 years with the paper. (Photo by Art Smith)

PARKERSBURG — For more than 44 years, Jess Mancini has been a presence around the Mid-Ohio Valley and the offices of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel.

On Friday, Mancini called it a career as he officially retired and embarked on the next phase of his life.

“Forty-four years, that is a long time,” he said with a chuckle.

During his time with the paper, Mancini covered many aspects of local government and life, economic development and missed opportunities in Parkersburg, Marietta and the region, as well as talking with state and national leaders about how what they were doing was going to impact people locally.

A 1976 graduate of West Virginia University, Mancini came to Parkersburg in 1979 after doing some public relations and marketing work in Morgantown, as well as reporting for a small weekly newspaper there.

Parkersburg Mayor Tom Joyce declared Friday, Jan. 12, 2024, as “Jess Mancini Day” in the city in honor of Mancini’s retirement after 44 years with the newspaper, as well as his dedication to presenting the facts of each story and his commitment to the community. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

“Parkersburg, at that time, was big enough for me,” he said.

Back then, Parkersburg had two newspapers — The Parkersburg News and The Parkersburg Sentinel. Mancini originally sent in a resume to the News, which was the morning paper. He was contacted by the editor, Jim Young, to come in for an interview.

He showed up when the Sentinel staff was mostly in the office and no one knew why he was there, including Sentinel Editor Dave Owen. Mancini figured out the mistake and came back later in the day for the interview.

“My first day and I almost screwed that up,” he said with a laugh.

During his time at the paper he has covered local government in both Parkersburg and Marietta as part of The Parkersburg News, the Marietta A.M. and The Parkersburg Sentinel as a reporter and as the city editor for the past several years for The Parkersburg News and Sentinel, which combined into one paper in the early 2000s.

Wood County Commissioners Blair Couch and Jimmy Colombo presented Parkersburg News and Sentinel City Editor Jess Mancini with a Spirit of Wood County Award on Friday during a retirement party for Mancini, who has been with the local newspaper for over 44 years. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

The most profound thing Mancini has seen during his time at the paper has been the change in Parkersburg.

“When I came here downtown was a lot busier,” he said. “We had a heck of a lot more people. There were a lot more plants in operation.”

Mancini has seen that decline over the years as industrial plants and people left the area. He’s also seen many businesses who were planning to come to the area fall through.

“I have seen some really big disappointments,”‘ he said. “The big one that comes to mind is the proposed ethane cracker plant not coming here.

“We were talking billions of dollars of dollars in investment. That would have changed a whole lot for this area, and we didn’t get it. I don’t think anyone was more disappointed than I was.”

Jess Mancini accepts a card from Parkersburg News and Sentinel Executive Editor Christina Myer during a retirement party Friday honoring Mancini’s 44 years at the local paper and his retirement. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

Mancini was the first to get the story about Luigino Foods Inc., a frozen food company wanting to build a multimillion-dollar plant in Parkersburg in the early 2000s.

“I broke that story, even though that was another company that never panned out for several reasons,” he said. “That one took a lot of work as there were a lot of lips sealed.

“I finally got the story and I was ready to go with it. We broke it before the governor announced it.”

Mancini was glad to see Hino come to the area, in Williamstown initially and then taking over the former Coldwater Creek building near Mineral Wells.

“That was big for this area,” he said.

Jane Mancini and Jess Mancini flank their daughter Sandi Deem as Jess Mancini prepares to cut the cake during the celebration of his retirement from the Parkersburg News and Sentinel Friday. (Photo by Christina Myer)

Through it all, Mancini said he got the information and let the people decide for themselves its importance.

“I just put it out there,” he said. “One of the things I always pushed for was efficiency.”

For many in the newsroom, Mancini was a source of advice. He would always tell young reporters that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. If someone wants to know something, go to the person who has that information.

“The easiest way to get the information is to go straight to the source,” he said. “I also tell new reporters to talk to their sources at least once every few days.

“When I had a beat, I would go to the mayor’s office, go to engineering, see the city clerk, talk to the police chief and others,” he said. “I saw (Mayor) Gene Knotts so much people thought I worked for him.”

Parkersburg News and Sentinel City Editor Jess Mancini, right, poses for a photo with West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice and Babydog when the governor came to Parkersburg in 2021 to award a prize in the “Do It for Babydog” COVID vaccination sweepstakes. (Photo Provided)

When something happened, these people knew who he was and that they could talk to him.

“They trusted you, and you trusted them,” he said. “I know these people. I can call them and ask what is going on and not have the problem getting the information or they could tell me where to go for the information.”

Texting and email has changed a lot of that and how people interact with each other.

“I still call people up,” Mancini said.

Through it all, he said he has always tried to be accurate and fair. He never was purposely trying to get anyone.

“I look back and there may have been some people I unintentionally hurt,” Mancini said “I never intended to hurt anyone, but sometimes that is not always the case.

“I tried to be as accurate and as fair as I could be. Fairness is the biggest thing. I’m not going to inject politics into it. I think I have, for the most part, succeeded in that.”

Mancini is still planning to work part-time at the paper, doing things important to him and being there if something big happens and he can “take command of the situation.” He also wants to spend time with his wife, Jane, and their grandchildren. He does woodworking and is getting back into photography. His wife has been involved with the Parkersburg Actors Guild and he has been doing some behind-the-scenes work with them.

“My lovely wife Jane has been supportive in everything I have done,” Mancini said.

As for the paper, Evan Bevins will be taking over the city editor’s position.

“I wish Evan the best of luck,” Mancini said. “I think he will be great for this community and this paper.

“We have a heck of a staff in here that I don’t think the public knows or appreciates what they do for this community.”

Bevins said it was Mancini who gave him his first assignment on his first day as an intern at the News and Sentinel.

“He has been a fantastic co-worker, mentor and especially friend ever since,” he said. “From letting me look over his shoulder as he edited my stories to learn where improvements were needed to allowing me to take the lead when I would have deferred to his experience, he’s helped make me a better reporter, writer and editor.”

News and Sentinel Publisher Jim Spanner said Mancini’s retirement was bittersweet.

“While we are all happy that Jess is going to be able to spend more time with family and be able to do more of the things that he enjoys doing, I also know that losing someone like Jess is a big loss to our newsroom team,” he said.”I guess the silver lining is that Jess has decided to stay on part-time for now, and we will still have all of his expertise and institutional knowledge available to us.

“I am also excited that Evan Bevins will be transitioning to his new role as city editor, and Evan has the many years he worked with Jess, and can draw off of those experiences too”

Executive Editor Christina Myer said working with Mancini has been a joy.

“He knows this valley inside and out, and he is a true news man,” she said. “He is as quick with a corny joke as he is to jump up to cover breaking news or ask a fussy politician some tough questions.

“He’s right that you ‘have to get up pretty early in the morning to get one over on Jess Mancini,’ and few of us ever managed it. He was almost always the first person into the office. His daily presence will be sorely missed.”

Brett Dunlap can be reached at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com

Parkersburg News and Sentinel City Editor Jess Mancini at his desk in the newsroom on Friday as the newspaper honored his retirement after 44 years with the paper. (Photo by Art Smith)

Jess Mancini, who has worked for The Parkersburg News, The Parkersburg Sentinel, the Marietta A.M. and The Parkersburg News and Sentinel for the past 44 years, officially retired Friday. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

Parkersburg News and Sentinel City Editor Jess Mancini cuts a cake Friday to commemorate his retirement after 44 years with the newspaper. (Photo by Art Smith)

Wood County Commissioners Blair Couch and Jimmy Colombo listen as Parkersburg Mayor Tom Joyce reads a proclamation Friday as “Jess Mancini Day” in Parkersburg to honor The Parkersburg News and Sentinel City Editor Jess Mancini on his retirement after 44 years with the newspaper. (Photo by Art Smith)