Opinion: Spreading newsroom nuggets on three-year anniversary

When I first launched this column nearly three years ago, I stated that I would be the eyes and ears of the Springfield Business Journal newsroom, bringing you news in the making or tidbits that otherwise aren’t found in regular coverage. This week’s column directly reflects that initiative.

The summer’s been a whirlwind of activity.

Focus Group II

First, I’d like to again thank our first Focus Group, which provided their critiques and perspectives of the weekly issues, helping me to better connect with SBJ readers. We finished a year of monthly meetings in June.

The 2006 Focus Group consisted of, in alphabetical order, Jonathan Groves of Drury University, Jennifer McCullough of Jennifer McCullough Marketing & PR, Teresa Schwab of Wilhoit Properties, Mary Lilly Smith of the city of Springfield, Steve Vaught of Trust Company of the Ozarks and Chris Whitley of CoxHealth.

I am extremely grateful for their year of service, in which they helped shape what SBJ became in the second half of 2006 and the first half of 2007.

In July, I became acquainted with the second edition of this group, which I’ve dubbed Focus Group II. Members are, in alphabetical order:

• Bob Hammerschmidt, Springfield region president for Commerce Bank;

• Mark Harrell, president of Plaza Realty;

• Joe McAdoo, aka columnist Rusty Saber (honorary, in recognition of his 25 years of service to SBJ);

• Matt Morrow, executive officer of Home Builders Association of Greater Springfield;

• Rita Needham, executive director of Southwest Area Manufacturers Association;

• Kemmi Rusciano, director of marketing for The Payroll Co. and owner of Ellie-berry Pie;

• Sharina Smith, senior director of marketing and communications for Southwest Baptist University; and

• Greg Williams, economic development director for Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce.

Both groups were assembled by invitation and selected because of their community roles, their dedication to business and their industry expertise.

The regional representative is SBU’s Smith, and I can’t wait to learn more about emerging businesses in Bolivar, just 20 miles north of Springfield.

In our first two meetings, this well-rounded bunch has been candid, offering constructive criticism, just as I had hoped. I look forward to learning more from them.

Record reader response

A July 30 page 5 story elicited a surprising reaction from SBJ readers.

The surprise was the volume: two letters to the editor and nearly a dozen reader responses to the poll – the most ever.

The story, “Commercial Street businesses fight for their own First Friday,” reported on the months of work by Commercial Street business owners to organize a First Friday Art Walk. The controversy is that the event is directly modeled after downtown’s famous art walks, held the first Friday of each month. Downtown vendors feel like Commercial stakeholders are stealing their thunder.

Voters clearly sided with Commercial Street, as 63 percent said, “Yes, Commercial Street vendors are promoting center city, just as downtown vendors are.”

It seems that until the critical mass of people coming downtown is enough to support both districts, reader Jean Farris’ idea of a “Second Saturday” event on Commercial Street might be the best option. I really appreciate the fact that City Utilities is providing bus/shuttle service between downtown and Commercial Street, as Paul Parker’s letter indicates, but with venue options growing in each district, visitors can squeeze in only a handful of selected galleries.

Another Letter to the Editor had us scratching our heads.

Rose Bruffett of Alpha House of Springfield Inc. wrote in questioning the accuracy of a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics survey that we reported on in the July 16 issue. The page 2 story, “Bureau of Labor Statistics releases compensation survey,” indicates that the average hourly wage in the Springfield area is $15.18. Bruffett thought the wage was too high to reflect the deep pool of services, factory and telemarketing employees in the area.

Hate to break it to you, Bruffett, but the federal survey did include higher-paying jobs such as business and financial managers, engineers and registered nurses – pay rates for which were published with the story. On the high end, general managers make an average of $59.27 an hour.

Springfield Business Journal Editor Eric Olson can be reached at eolson@sbj.net.