Banker, landscaper team up to create site for good news
Friday, March 20, 2009
Weary of bad news? Had your fill of gloom-and-doom?
Marty Grunder and Doug Compton felt the same way. Tell them this is the worst economy since the early 1980s and possibly beyond, and they won't argue.
"You can't run into a burning house and say, 'Everything is going to be all right,' " said Grunder, owner of Miamisburg's Grunder Landscaping Co.
But the two think bad news isn't the whole story. After sharing their frustrations with each other last year about how tough it was to find good news, the pair decided to highlight what they heard from clients and colleagues.
"Not to be Pollyanish, but just to say, 'Hey, there are pockets out there,' " said Compton, president and chief executive of Park National Bank of Southwestern Ohio and Northern Kentucky. "There are good things going on."
Compton grew up in West Carrollton and has long served Dayton-area customers. He and Grunder reached out to businesses they thought were doing well and secured permission to share their stories in 60-second radio spots, starting in September. One of their first success examples was Dayton manufacturer Noble Tool.
They also drew from stories reported in the local media, including the Dayton Daily News, Compton said.
Grunder, who serves on Park's board of directors, joined Compton in pointing to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and its expected incoming jobs, as a source of hope. Dayton's place in the regional "90-minute market," local universities and hospitals also are reasons for optimism, they believe.
The pair are paying for the radio spots themselves, Grunder said, declining to say exactly what their investment has been so far. "It's been thousands and thousands of dollars," he said.
And the good-news team has a Web site as well. The site was donated by Forward Media Group of Tipp City, and they have owned the address — www.goodnewsindayton.com — for six months.
"It's been very positive," Compton said. "I will honestly tell you I've not heard any negative comments at all." Instead, he's getting e-mails and phone calls from people he hasn't heard from in a decade or more, he said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2390 or tgnau@DaytonDailyNews.com.
