Years ago a cousin of mine – who owned a business – said even though you have great employees, a business is never run as well if the owner doesn’t live in the town and actively participate in the business.
That is why I was so pleased over a year ago when I learned that The Stevens County Times was sold to a couple from Benson. Although, not strictly local, it is close enough and the owners actively work in the business, shop and bank in Morris, etc.
As an aside, an editor of an area daily newspaper said recently, it was always so disheartening at the end of the month to see any profit made shipped off to a faraway city.
I know when I happened to be away from the radio stations I owned, even though I had good employees, there were missed stories, ads not rewritten, and the quality of what was on the air suffered.
I felt the quality of the product reflected directly on me, and so it had to be the very best. You often don’t find this in employees.
So, even though the employees of the Stevens County Times did a good job in the past, there is nothing like local owners to make a business great, as they have over the past year.
So, the next time you go shopping, or need services, look for a store that is locally owned, owned by people you see in church, at the VFW, Lions, Eagles, and Legion meetings, at the locally owned grocery store, at the local sports events, at the county fair, and I don’t mean folks who manage that business for an owner hundreds of miles away. I mean someone who actually owns the business. That way you will help keep our community vibrant.
Ted Storck
Surprise, Ariz., and Morris
