WHEN I first met Jamie Shuttleworth he was already working for our newspapers as a full-time freelancer. The onset of the pandemic had meant that a plan to bring him in to a staff role had to be put on hold.

I took over as his manager later that summer, and in the space of our first conversation I was convinced this was somebody that just had to be a key part of our Glasgow Times team going forward.

He knew his stuff, he had brilliant ideas, but, most of all, he had a relentless enthusiasm and energy for journalism which rubbed off on everybody else.

READ MORE: 'Glasgow lost one of its sweetest and most caring souls this week'

As I worked with him more and more, it became clear that I had to make the case for us to give him a full-time staff job.

But I also knew that nobody could make that case better for Jamie than Jamie himself. He was his own best advocate. All you had to do was put him in front of somebody, and they couldn’t help but be dazzled.

Glasgow Times:

So I set up a meeting for him to present some of his ideas on our social media strategy to the rest of the senior team and our managing director.

Jamie marched in wearing a daft grin, a full suit and tie – everybody else had stopped getting dressed up when the pandemic hit – and was armed with about 50 slides (anybody who worked with Jamie knew that he never used five slides when there was a chance to make 50).

Over the course of the next hour, through force of sheer charisma and talent, it quickly became clear to everybody involved that this was exactly the type of person that we wanted to build the digital future of the company around.

Jamie signed a staff contract, for a brand new “Head of Social Media” job, later that week.

The truth is that you couldn’t meet Jamie and not be impressed by him. He was special.

From walking about the East End dressed as a giant Glasgow Times, playing Hungry Hippos with the boys from Open Goal, or broadcasting live for half an hour on Facebook on top of the Glasgow city tour bus, chatting away happily to people commenting, there was nothing Jamie wasn’t up for doing.

He managed to get to know just about everybody in our company in less than a year with us – and despite the fact most people have been working from home.

He also had so much time for all of his colleagues – in the space of a short conversation he had the knack of somehow making you feel like you were the most important person in the world.

One of Jamie’s greatest passions was talking and writing about mental health, and we would encourage anybody who may be struggling today to reach out and seek help.

Our thoughts go out to all his friends, colleagues and family who are devastated this week.

I know that everybody he touched will want to come together to find a way to ensure his legacy lives on in the coming days, but for now we’re all just mourning the loss of a colleague who was deeply loved.