Guest Column: Veteran financial officer closes SBJ chapter

“The sky is not going to fall, but if it does, we’ll put it back up.” —Dorothy Gardner, told to Dianne Elizabeth Osis on Dec. 30, 2003.

Life is about changes.

Aug. 17 will mark my completion of 20 years with the Springfield Business Journal. After that, I will start a new venture in my life. I will no longer get up at 5:20 a.m. to be at work by 7 a.m. (I am an early morning person.)

My husband retired six years ago to be home and do the work that I could not do while I was undergoing cancer treatments to make it possible for me to continue working. So family, I will finally be home with you.

Looking back, the last two decades have been full of change. In our business, we either grow or fall back you never “just stay even.” I am proud to say that our company has flourished.

I arrived at SBJ in August 1988 to a staff of 11. As you can imagine, we did everything that needed to be done to publish the weekly paper – and still do. Our blessings always have been our staff members – a group of devoted people who believe each week in what we do for the community and for us.

There are many people I think of as I reflect on the years. There are the countless friends I have made through SBJ. I remember those first staffers who welcomed me in 1988: Chris Whitley, Teresa Bledsoe, Diane Zipf, Cheryl Conway, Cathy Powell, Cynthia Hammon, Renee Meadows (whom we lost to brain cancer several years ago), Steve Hutton, Cathy Long and, of course, publisher Dianne Elizabeth Osis. Thank you for making me so welcome.

There have been other staff members during the years, and it has certainly been a pleasure to have worked with so many talented individuals who have gone on to be successful in other endeavors.

One of our first projects, thanks to Andis Osis, was putting together SBJ’s first Book of Lists, which evolved into the Dynamic Dozen annual event, where we introduce the top growth leaders in our community. We also purchased Springfield Parent & Family and operated it for seven years during the 1980s and 1990s, eventually selling it to Meyer Communications, which sold it to Springfield News-Leader. We are so proud it is an ongoing operation today.

We developed our events, including Most Influential Women, 40 Under 40 and Economic Impact Awards, to honor individuals and companies in our community. Another dream was to have another business publication, and we did that in 2006 with the launch of Joplin Tri-State Business.

Publisher and President Osis has always believed our staff deserved the best we could give them. With that thought in mind, she developed a plan to renovate a beautiful downtown building as our home. Renovations were completed in December 1996, and on a cold, snowy day we moved into 313 Park Central West.

Dianne and I have become like sisters over the years, and I sometimes said to her and the staff, “Dianne, you dream it, and we can make it come true.”

She and I have worked together so closely, and she will always be my best friend. We have enjoyed happy times and celebrated family weddings, births of grandchildren and cried together as we lost family members and endured the hardships of my health problems. During my cancer surgery and treatments, she and the SBJ staff at that time and friends I made through SBJ were some of my best supporters and cheerleaders.

We developed a 401(k) plan for our employees, improved our health insurance plan to better attract employees. Our company is still looking at methods to improve benefits for our staff, and under the leadership of Chief Operations Officer Jennifer Jackson, I see those dreams coming true.

I also have been fortunate to have great administrative staff members. These are hard-working individuals who have made the front office what it is today.

Looking to the future, SBJ will be going strong as it celebrates its 28th anniversary with this issue and begins its 29th year. We have a staff in place that can make all dreams come true. They also are among my dearest friends.

I have been so fortunate to have shared 20 of those 28 years. Thank you friends in the community, SBJ and Joplin staff, my supportive family and all our readers, advertisers and community supporters out there in SBJ- and Joplin Tri-State Business-land.

I have plenty of plans, but for the first few weeks perhaps I can “sleep in,” get my exercise program back on track and spend some more quality time with family and friends that I have promised and postponed lunches too many times. I am also very involved with Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks, and can spend more time volunteering.

To all of my SBJ friends out there, thank you for being that friend and supporter. We certainly will stay in touch.

But more importantly, I’m pleased to fulfill a promise I made to my husband several years ago. Honey, I love you, and I’m coming home.

Dorothy Gardner is a 20-year employee of Springfield Business Journal, retiring as vice president. She can be reached at dgardner@sbj.net.[[In-content Ad]]