TAKING NOTES:

Early on in my tenure here as editor in chief of the Daily Pilot, we had a story that forced me into defending the separation-of-church-and-state division that needs to exist between advertising departments and newsrooms.

The story was about a local business that was being fined by the district attorney for what was really a somewhat minor transgression.

I won’t get into the exact details here, but let’s just say the business, a fairly large advertiser with us, wasn’t too pleased to hear we were writing about them.

They refused to comment to our reporter and called the Daily Pilot representative who handled their account and threatened to cancel their advertising if the story ran.

As I was editing the article, Publisher Tom Johnson walked in and asked me if we could talk about it. I told him what we had reported and read him the story. He made one “suggested” change to one word in a headline but otherwise told me he was fine with us running it.

Sure enough, the advertiser canceled that day and we lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue.

For me, that was truly a watershed moment in my relationship with Tom. Not because I enjoyed harming the advertiser or losing the money, but because it affirmed for me what I already knew about Tom. That this newspaper and its integrity is much more sacrosanct than the relationship with any one advertiser.

If a newspaper doesn’t have integrity and the public trust, it has nothing. That’s what Tom Johnson instilled in us all.

As he leaves today in what is his last day at the helm of the Daily Pilot, a place he has called home for 17 years, it’s that lesson and so many others that I will forever keep with me.

Make no mistake, Johnson is a businessman through and through who understands the importance of making money. His mantra to all of us all these many years was to run the Daily Pilot and make decisions as if we were the owner.

We took that seriously and I think the Daily Pilot today is so much stronger because of his leadership.

What Tom has meant to me and my career is too much to discuss here in this space, but it’s his involvement in the community and local charities that will really be what he is remembered for.

He has been an officer in both the Newport Beach and Costa Mesa Chambers of Commerce, on the Conference and Visitors board and the Costa Mesa Senior Center. He is a member of the Commodores, an elite charitable arm of the Newport Beach chamber and he helped found CM900, which is a similar group associated with the Costa Mesa chamber.

When Newport Beach was in search of a new library, Tom ensured the Daily Pilot assisted in the cause. When Newport-Mesa schools were crumbling at their very foundations, Tom raised his hand to help promote and implement the bond measure that ultimately helped save them.

He has served on the Hoag Hospital Foundation and the hospital’s fundraising 552 Club. At the Toshiba Classic golf tournament you’ll see him announcing the professional golfers on the opening tees, also a charitable effort for Hoag.

During the Christmas Boat Parade, he’ll be out on the harbor making sure rogue boaters don’t ruin that treasured community event.

When someone needs an emcee in town, Tom is probably one of two top names on everyone’s list — the other being longtime Pilot columnist Peter Buffa.

Nine years ago, when a local attorney came calling to ask Tom to help resurrect the Daily Pilot Cup soccer tournament, he answered the call. The tournament has grown from 500 kids to 2,500 kids in a short time.

The weather drawings done by local elementary school children that appear on the Daily Pilot’s front page, well, that was Tom’s idea also. We already have a huge backlog of them.

As you can probably tell, I could go on and on with the accolades and accomplishments but I won’t. Just be sure that there aren’t many aspects in the grand scope of Newport-Mesa life that Tom Johnson hasn’t touched or been a part of.

With Tom’s departure that’s going to make my job and others here, like Director of Advertising Lisa Cosenza, Promotions Director Lana Johnson and Managing Editor Brady Rhoades, that much more critical as we strive to continue all the good work Tom’s done. But we will because the Daily Pilot is too important to this community for us to do anything else, and I still see nothing but a bright future for this paper and community news we produce every day.

I know I’m forever indebted to Tom and what he has done for me. And the best part about Tom is he doesn’t expect to hear a thank you back.

Good luck, my friend, and I’ll see you around.

TONY DODERO is the director of news and online for the Daily Pilot. He can be reached at (714) 966-4608 or via e-mail at tony.dodero@latimes.com.