Newspaper columnist Scott Maxwell on cutting his teeth as a city hall reporter, meeting his wife at a hoedown and the issue he thinks deserves the attention of Central Floridians.

When I was a kid I wanted to be a newspaperman. I don’t know why, but I always found the profession intoxicating. When I was little, I’d go to my father’s office and churn out mimeographed copies of my homemade Maxwell House News with compelling stories like: “Scott’s Dad Mows Grass.”

I was born and raised in Durham, North Carolina—a part of the progressive South where high-tech research mixes with shrimp and grits. After working my first job in Winston-Salem, the Orlando Sentinel called to ask if I’d consider moving to Orlando. I thought I’d try it for a couple of years. That was more than two decades ago.

After college, I worked as a reporter and covered everything from crime to City Hall in North Carolina. It was a great way to cut my teeth. I moved to Orlando in 1998 and covered local government for four years—until the editors asked if I wanted to pen the newspaper’s celebrity/society column. I did not. I was very appreciative of the offer, but wanted to cover politics and policy. So we compromised, and I did a bit of both for the first few years, writing columns about Backstreet Boys and the
ballet gala one day and controversies at City Hall the next. To be honest, it was kind of weird.

My favorite sport is college basketball, hands down. I grew up on Tobacco Road, going to Duke games and cheering for the University of North Carolina (UNC) to lose. That is until I decided to attend UNC and started rooting against Duke. I’ve been a diehard Tar Heel ever since. I love the pace of play in basketball and how college athletes give it their all.

I met my wife in college at a hoedown. My fraternity and my now-wife’s sorority were having a country-themed mixer. We met square-dancing, which we did poorly.

My wife and I have a daughter who’s a sophomore at Flagler College and a son who is graduating from Winter Park High School. Parenting is both challenging and rewarding. It’s amazing how two children who grew up in the same house can be so different.

I love to go on cruises. What I think my wife and I like most is the total disconnection from the rest of the world. A cruise ship is the one place where I put my phone in the safe and don’t bother checking it.

I like working as a columnist because I learn so much. Everything from the intricacies of public policy to understanding why coyotes are invading Orlando. And I get to talk to fascinating people who educate, inspire and humble me.

One of the biggest issues in Central Florida today that deserves the attention of the public is low wages. Orlando ranks dead last for median wages among America’s 50 biggest metros. And so many of our problems—housing, transportation, strained nonprofits and ER rooms—stem from that. It’s not necessarily about government-imposed wage lifts. It’s about our region striving to grow better-paying jobs.

As a columnist with the Sentinel, I try to give people stories they can’t get elsewhere, help them understand how decisions in Tallahassee impact their lives and empower them to take action. I also try to have fun along the way. We can all use more humor in life.

This article originally appeared in Orlando Family Magazine’s May 2020 issue.