Life With Ferris: All That Helen Exum Taught Me Monday, January 11, 2021 - by Ferris Robinson
From left, Roy Exum, Ferris Robinson, Paul Kelly and Helen Exum at a holiday office party in 2012
Helen McDonald Exum gave me my first assignment as a writer. But she gave me much more than that. She took a chance on me and took me under her wing. Helen Exum taught me a thing or two, and not just about writing.
The lifestyle editor of the Chattanooga Free Press pushed me out of my comfort zone more than once. She sent me to interview Willie Ames from “Eight is Enough,” even though I had never seen the show. I balked, confessing I’d never heard of him, but she clucked her tongue and chirped that I’d be fine. She reassured me he was a person, just like me.