FAIRMONT — At some point in our lives, we all wish we could be in two places at the same time. Trust me, I’ve been there.

When it happens within our professional lives, there’s an even greater frustration. And unfortunately, it happens in the news business occasionally. As much as we’d like to be everywhere for every event in the county, it’s just not possible. Conflicting schedules can be an issue.

Which brings up a question I get from callers frequently. “How much notice do you need?”

When it comes to events, we understand that each one is handled in a different way. Some events are annual ones, and by that virtue, we know when to expect them. For example, the Mannington District Fair is held during the first week of August. It’s been that way for more than 70 years. We know that and plan for it.

Some groups and organizations plan events months in advance.

Some gel much closer to the event’s date.

Some events have virtually no notice.

So the short answer to the question is ... we’d love to have as much notice as possible. And that’s not always feasible, we understand. But also know that if you call the day before an event, or even the morning of (it happens all too often), it might not be possible for us to staff that event with a reporter or photographer.

That’s the short answer. Here are a few suggestions that serve as the “long” answer to the question.

• When you plan an event, even if all the details aren’t yet finalized, give us a heads-up. While speaking to a source the other day, she reminded me of her organization’s annual dinner coming up in six weeks. I promptly pulled out my planner and jotted down the date and the event. Even though the speaker hasn’t been finalized, all the sponsors haven’t been secured and the menu hasn’t been chosen, she was able to give me more than six weeks’ notice, which we always appreciate. You don’t have to wait until every single detail is nailed down to let us know about an upcoming event. We’d love you to drop a flier by the office, send us an email or give us a call to let us know about your upcoming event.

• If you’ve built a relationship with one of the reporters or editors, give them a call or shoot them an email directly. Let’s say a church is holding a special event, and they deal with Lifestyles editor Debra Minor Wilson on a regular basis through the weekly “Faith Journeys” section. Feel free to contact Debbie directly. If that particular reporter isn’t the person who normally handles something like that, I guarantee he or she will put it in the hands of the person who does.

• Avoid sending event notices to more than one person in the newsroom. It kind of turns into a logistics nightmare, and in the end, the item usually gets lost in the shuffle because everyone assumes that someone else is taking care of it. If you’re not sure who to send an item to, our newsroom has a main email account that all staff can access — timeswv@timeswv.com — or you can send a notice directly to me and I can direct it to the responsible party.

• When you send an email, always follow up with a telephone call. It’s the best way to ensure that an email hasn’t been lost in cyberspace.

• If you’d like to have an item listed in the Community Calendar, please email it to calendars@timeswv.com. We can publish an item three times prior to the event. It would also be helpful if you’d let us know what dates you’d like the item printed in the calendar.

• We often get phone calls seeking the email addresses of all our community columnists so the same item can appear in each one of the weekly columns. We’d actually prefer if you didn’t notify all the columnists, but rather send it to us and we’ll place it in the appropriate place. It avoids duplication within the newspaper, which doesn’t serve our readers very well.

• Please do not assume that we know about an event if you haven’t contacted us directly. If something were to fall through the cracks, we’d hate for there to be hard feelings.

• Please understand that if you call us the day of an event without any prior notice, it’s rarely possible for us to staff that event with a photographer or a reporter. When that happens, because in many cases we have conflicting assignments or events, we ask that the source take a picture and send us a little write-up, which we will promptly print at our earliest convenience.

We take our role of a community newspaper at the Times West Virginian very seriously. That means we don’t just want to report on what happens in our community, but we want to be an asset to schools, churches, community groups, and organizations and individuals. It is, in fact, our pleasure to help you notify the public of a guest speaker, concert, art show, meeting, gathering, reunion, fundraiser for a cause, or other community event.

Please help us do that.

My Press Pass is a twice monthly column written by Managing Editor Misty Poe to explain the news gathering process and editorial decisions made at the Times West Virginian. If there are any specific questions you’d like to see addressed, you may contact her at mpoe@timeswv.com.