MY STORY: Local Business Cross E Ranch Celebrates its 50th Anniversary

MY BLOG:

My enterprise story merely started with a conveniently timed event, but the focus soon shifted into a piece on the importance of supporting small local businesses.

I came across Cross E Ranch two years ago while looking for a nearby pumpkin patch and have attended their Fall Festival every year since. While buying this year’s tickets at the beginning of October, I discovered it was the ranch’s 50th anniversary, and immediately wrote it down as a possibility for my story.

I was lucky enough to get in touch with one of the owners, Dalon Hinckley, who was my main source. He was able to give me a full history of the Cross E Ranch, as it was originally owned by his dad.

Dalon answered all my basic questions, but he offered up even more stories and information that made it so easy to form my story. He was the reason I redirected my attention to the business aspect of the ranch. He detailed how the business has changed in the past fifty years, and how he had to creatively overcome the obstacles.

The writing process was hard, as I expected, but it was not hard for the reasons I had expected. I ended up with so much information, that I didn’t know what to cut out. That has never happened to me before. I also had a problem shifting my story focus. I was originally just going to cover the Cross E Ranch Fall Festival as a current event, but my interview with Dalon led me a different direction. I struggled with trying to focus on both, rather than letting my obvious true topic lead the story.

In the end I learned so much from writing this article. I was intimidated by this assignment at the beginning of the semester, but I really enjoyed the whole process. I feel that my writing has improved, and I gained interview experience at the same time.

The biggest lesson I learned is to not force the material into an originally conceived topic. Some stories will lead you.

ABOUT ME:

I am 22 years old, born and raised in Salt Lake City. I started my college journey at Utah Valley University, where I spent two years earning an associate degree in Dance Education before transferring to the University of Utah. This is now my third year at the University of Utah, and I am set to graduate in the Spring of 2019 with a degree in Strategic Communication.

I love writing, but my true focus is in brand creation and design. My hope is to work for a business involved in the arts, and get back to my roots as a dancer.

When I am not in school or working, I spend my free time with my family and boyfriend. I can also be found reading, at a yoga studio, or doing my own or a friend’s makeup at any given time.