Last week, somewhere in the avalanche of paper that rumbles out of the Tribune fax machine each day, I noticed a flyer announcing that June 24 was National Columnists’ Day. This came as a surprise to me. Evidently, nobody else knows this day exists either: I didn’t get a single present.

Of course, they have a day for everything now &045; Rutabaga Salesperson Day, Secretary’s Cousin’s Day, National Badminton Day &045; but it was kind of interesting to see somebody coming up with a day that represents something I do, even if these &uot;days&uot; are contrived and pointless.

The opinion pieces you see across the top of page 4 every day, like this one, are columns. A column differs from an editorial in several important ways. First off, a column has this little photo and the writer’s name. This denotes that the space is reserved for the opinions or the musings of one specific person, who speaks only for him or herself. That’s different from editorials, which are not supposed to be one person’s opinion; they are &uot;the newspaper’s opinion,&uot; and are supposed to make a clear stand and suggest a course of action on a single issue without having the tone of a personal diatribe. That’s why they’re not signed, and aren’t in the vast majority of newspapers.

I’ve been with the Tribune for three years and a month now, and simple math suggests this is probably about column number 150 for me (I’ve missed a handful of weeks). Of course, that’s nothing compared to Ed Shannon, who keeps better track than I do and can tell you that he’s on number 966. I don’t even know how to begin calculating how many columns Love Cruikshank has written.

Some people in the journalism business will tell you that writing one of these things every week is among the toughest jobs. Somebody who is writing one for the first time will probably be surprised how hard it is to come up with ideas, particularly ones about which the writer has enough to say to fill all this space. If you expect the commentary to be insightful or at least entertaining &045; which you should &045; well, that makes it even harder.

Everybody has a different take on newspaper columns, it seems. Some people enjoy reading a writer’s personal tales &045; the slice-of-life type columns that you often see. Others think these are a waste of space and want to see focused, hard opinions. Some columnists rely on humor; others see their columns as ways to strive for change or make a stand on serious issues.

Overall, having local columnists has been something I’ve placed a lot of emphasis on at the Tribune. We’ve gone through a few of them in the last three years, and I’ve worked to find a good balance between the &uot;lighter&uot; columns and the more serious ones.

I think our local columnists now are the strongest and most diverse that we’ve ever had. Tony Trow is not universally popular for sure, but nobody is going to be, and his local focus and willingness to take a stand make for good columns that probably start good discussions. David Rask Behling is a mature, skillful writer who always has an interesting perspective, though not all would agree with his opinions, which some characterize as &uot;liberal.&uot; Al Batt is hilarious most of the time, but takes a break from humor every once in a while to show that he can also be poignant and thought provoking. Love Cruikshank’s wit, keen memory and storytelling skill make her entertaining, and her occasional political statements are razor-sharp. And of course, Ed Shannon provides a great mix of local history and odds-and-ends-type columns with a sporadic opinion mixed in.

I’ve been told that the columns on this page are some of the most well-read parts of the paper, and that to me reflects a few truths. First, people are interested in what others have to say and can identify with a columnist whose voice and style they come to know over time. Second, opinion pages are very important to newspapers, because even when readers don’t agree, they want to read opinions and discuss them, even if the discussion is just about how much they disagree. And third, a community needs people who are willing to put their name on a column every week and try to accomplish something &045; whether their goal is to get a few laughs, change a few minds or tell somebody something they didn’t know before.

I’m guilty, too; I admit I didn’t buy presents for any of our columnists for National Columnists’ Day. But I would like to take the opportunity to thank them for the work they do, because it’s a crucial part of the Albert Lea Tribune.

(Dylan Belden is the Tribune’s managing editor. His column appears Sundays. E-mail him at dylan.belden@albertleatribune.com.)