Helen Peck, Editor and Owner of the Brick Communicator Newspaper, Dies

Helen Peck (File Photo)

Brick Township lost a champion of the town, its businesses and its residents Monday night.

Helen Peck, publisher and editor of the former Brick Communicator newspaper, died at the age of 73, friends said.

“Helen was a friend to all good things in Brick and Brick Business, and those of us who knew her and benefited from her friendship and love, will never, ever forget her,” the township’s Chamber of Commerce said in a statement.

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“Helen’s goal was to ‘Move, Touch and Inspire,'” the statement said. “Goal achieved.”

Peck had a long career in media before coming to Brick, having worked for CBS News and CBS Sports in New York, as well as other companies. She started the newspaper in 1997, mainly publishing twice a month until she gave up the business a few years ago. The Communicator was known as the “Feel Good Newspaper.”

“When I roam around town, so many of our residents put a smile on my face,” Peck once wrote in a column in the Communicator. “The hands of friendship are always extended by people who walk the walk: the members of the VFW, the American Legion, the Knights of Columbus, the Elks Club, the PBA, the members of the DAV, the Brick Township Chamber of Commerce, our wonderful and caring Churches and Synagogues, the Brick Rotary Clubs and all of the special organizations that enrich our town.”

Services have not yet been announced.

Below, as shared Tuesday by the Chamber of Commerce, is that entire column:

Where to begin? I’ve allocated a bit of space to write about our journey
down the Communicator road, bumps and all, since August, 1997
when The Brick Communicator started arriving in your mailboxes.
In the beginning, the paper was published twice a month, and the
old fashioned method of gluing printed copy on cardboard story
boards, which were then rushed to a local printer to be photographed,
and then plated to go on the presses, which then rolled out
over 30,000 some copies for distribution. What an endless ordeal. I
never was a good “gluer” and quite often some of the margins were
a bit askew. Eventually, I got the hang of it and for a time things
looked cosmetically better. But the work was involved and tedious
and deadlines were rarely, if ever met.

In the mid-2000’s technology started to really take off, especially
in the print world. You had to get up to speed and jump into
the world of electronic journalism.

The computers had more power, more tools and the finished
product was incredible (once you learned what buttons to push
and what commands to make the colors in the paper pop!) All of
this credit belongs to Moe Nolan, our Editor, Graphic Artist, Layout
Guru and Ace Photographer (she was out in the 90 degree heat) taking
over 200 pictures at the most recent Brick Garden Tour…one of
our favorite yearly cover shots. Today the road still has it’s bumpy
moments, what with the unsettled economy and the day-to-day operation
of any small business. The Brick Township Communicator
owes it existence to the residents of Brick Township who have
supported us over the years and encourage us to keep sharing all of
the good news in town with your families and neighbors.

I could fill a whole page with the names of our wonderful advertisers
who help us publish this paper. Without their ad revenue,
we wouldn’t exist. They dig deep to find a few extra bucks for an
ad, that some can ill afford, to help us keep the paper going. I am
forever grateful and treasure our professional relationships, which
over the years, have turned into meaningful and valued friendships.

We are all in the same boat, and look out for each other, and
always find a kind word to cheer each other up on some glum days.
The Communicator Family of Advertisers is the best in the world,
and I am proud to be a member of this fabulous community.

When I roam around town, so many of our residents put a smile
on my face. Individually, and all of the various organizations who
also reach out to “Move, Touch and Inspire.” The hands of friendship
are always extended by people who walk the walk: the members
of the VFW, the American Legion, the Knights of Columbus, the
Elks Club, the PBA, the members of the DAV, the Brick Township
Chamber of Commerce, our wonderful and caring Churches and
Synagogues, the Brick Rotary Clubs and all of the special organizations
that enrich our town…….