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8 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | JUNE 2018 By Kris Corbett You may not know him personally but if you have read a copy of the Four Seasons Breeze Magazine anytime in the past then you have experienced a part of his world. Leighton "Mack" McLaughlin has been editor of the Breeze since its inception more than 11 years ago. But it hasn't always been known by its present name nor has its composition always been a sleek 60-plus page color magazine. Mack first visited Four Seasons when "the only thing here was a trailer for a sales office and a few model homes." Becoming a resident in 2005, Mack thought he "might be able to help the activities director" with further developing the Community Newsletter which was then a four-page, black-and-white copied pamphlet. Quite an understatement but indicative of the type of man Mack is — a quiet and unassuming doer. His qualifications included being a retired newspaperman and journalism professor. So help he did — obtaining Board approval to acquire an outside publisher and creating the Four Seasons Sentinel which had a few color pages and advertisements to pay for the publication. And when the Sentinel went to a magazine format, a contest was held to name it and the Breeze was born. He jokingly adds, "And to the winner, we offered a life-time subscription to the magazine." Add keen sense of humor to those qualifications. McLaughlin began his newspaper career as a copy boy at the City News Bureau of Chicago in 1957. He also worked for the Arizona Journal, the Miami Herald, and Chicago Daily News, with the majority of his career at the Chicago Sun-Times. While there he held jobs as a reporter, rewrite man, first assistant city editor and telegraph editor. He was also the editor of the Field Newspaper Syndicate. When asked what his favorite assignment was, without hesitation, he replied, "rewrite man." Chuckling, Mack explained, "The reporters were outside in the rain and weather and I was inside the office!" At the Sun-Times, he was responsible for leading "a three-year effort that replaced the old Linotype machines and hot metal typesetting with the newspaper's first computerized word processing and typesetting" program. He also won many awards for both feature and news writing. Mack's teaching career began in 1984 as an adjunct Journalism lecturer at California State University, Fullerton, while still working full-time as managing editor of the San Gabriel Valley Daily Tribune. After retiring from the Tribune in 1986, McLaughlin began "teaching full-time at Riverside Community College and was advisor to the student newspaper." During his tenure at RCC, he worked as a copy editor for the Riverside Press Enterprise during the summers "to stay current." He continued that currency with the Sentinel and Breeze because it was "fun contributing to the community. I enjoyed talking to board members and getting insight into issues. It was a good way to keep up with changes." Mack has been a member of the Rules and Regulations Committee and was also the Chairperson of the Communication Advisory (Newsletter) Committee. Mack, who recently resigned as editor, has contributed many articles to past issues of the magazine. Residents can access archived Breeze issues on the website and look for entertaining articles written by Crotchet E. Oldman, a humorous pseudonym he used to pen musings about life as a senior citizen. Mack is also a veteran of the Korean War. He was a Marine reservist who was called to active duty in 1951. Spending 42 months of active service, he went from a being an enlisted aviation ordnance man to a first lieutenant. Mack was stationed for a year in Japan as a rifle platoon leader, rifle company executive officer and battalion staff officer for the First Battalion, Third Marines. Having just celebrated his 88th birthday, he now plans to enjoy "reading, completing crossword puzzles, and trying to keep up with nine active grandkids. I'm looking forward to the growth of our community and the build out and living out my days here — it's such a gorgeous place with magnificent people and facilities. I've made a lot of good friends." One only needs to mention his name to receive in-kind accolades about Mack — "such a dear," "love spending time with him," "a very nice man," "kind," "witty, "wonderful." He was recently honored at a farewell luncheon, attended by current and past members of the editorial board and the publishers. The gift that brought the biggest laugh? A coffee mug with the saying, "Editor's are overrrated." We're glad we could leave you laughing. Breeze Editor Re-Retires The evolution of the community's magazine Bev and Mack McLaughlin Mack in his office

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