Pat Carson is one of the rocks of the Statesman's newsroom. She's a force in the life of this magazine, too.

Raised in Southern California, Carson moved to Boise in 1994 and got a job at the Statesman the next year as the newsroom's receptionist. Most calls then went through what is still the main newsroom number, 377-6400.

She still takes calls, but editorial work has become the dominant part of her job. Now a news assistant, Carson prepares the Statesman's birth announcements and the weekly library, faith and Notable Neighbors columns. She preserves photos in our internal electronic archive. For Business Insider, she compiles the Who's Moving piece of the Who's Doing What section. She also compiles BI's Making Good columns and their shorter cousins in the daily Your Business Community listings.

Preparing the Making Good column "is kind of fun," she says. "I like building things." But she says she regularly must "get rid of the fluff" in announcements about new hires and promotions. Your description of your company as "leading" in its field? Puffery. That canned quote about how "excited" you are about your new job? Gone.

For the fluff-befuddled, Carson offers help: "If you have questions, call me."

You know the number.

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dstaats@idahostatesman.comTwitter: @IDS_DavidStaats