SBJ staff, readers give plenty to be thankful for

By the time you read this, Thanksgiv-ing will be a memory, a few lonely leftovers shrink-wrapped on the refrigerator shelf.

However, as the SBJ staff finishes up the issue you are reading, it is, in fact, the day before Thanksgiving, and I am reminded of the many things I have to be thankful for. I'd like to share them with you.

First there's my wonderful editorial staff. Reporters Cheryl Capages, Maria Hoover and Eric Olson, whose bylines you read each week, do far more than write the articles you read. They interview and write, but they also research, proofread, take photographs and brainstorm for the ideas that keep this paper going. They are exacting professionals who consistently perform under pressure.

Editors Frank Shipe and Bruce Helm make sure that the copy comes in, is edited, refined, designed and appropriately illustrated with photos and graphics, as well as ensuring that it is proofread and corrected, and delivered on time and in style.

And I don't know where we would be without our faithful freelance writers.

Every week they come through for us. Kris Ann Hegle, Christine Ballew-Gon-zales, Vera-Jane Goodin, Ruth Bremer, Jan K. Allen, Ann Bucy, Carrie Groves, Christen Jackson, Gail Reynolds, Paul Schreiber and Mike Schilling all put their time and talent at our disposal, to benefit our readers.

I know our readers have enjoyed our columnists' work as much as I have.

The practical investing savvy of Clark Davis; the hands-on communication skills of Marlene Chism; the wit and wisdom of Sinara Stull O'Donnell; the organizational insights of Cal LeMon; the amused observations of Joe McAdoo; and the marketing moxie of Alf Nucifora have all added something very special.

Then there's our incredible sales staff.

Advertising Manager Steve Blalock keeps the department producing rain or shine, bull or bear, hell or high water.

And his staff of account executives deliver the goods every week to keep the presses rolling, the bills paid and the payroll covered.

Larry Smith, Terresa Taylor, Karen Ross and our staff's newest additions, Mary McCoy and executive listings representative Layla Harding, take on the incredibly competitive Springfield ad-vertising marketplace and come up shining, time after time. They take good care of our advertisers, and of us all.

Of course, anyone who's attended any of SBJ's events this year 40-under-40, the Economic Impact Awards and Women in Business doesn't need me to tell them why I'm grateful for Debra Fickbohm, special products coordinator.

It's Debra who sees to it that those events go off without a hitch and who brings in the sponsorships and sales that support our special glossy publications.

And speaking of glossy publications, among others, I am thankful for the SBJ production department.

Production Manager Jana Scott Bla-lock is the artist behind our glossy publications, and it is she who acts as watchdog over the quality of the finished publication. She and her assistant, Kate Sammon, also build all of the advertisements produced in house, and the entire paper benefits from Scott Blalock's photography skills.

Sammon, a fairly new addition to the staff, employs her many talents to put together the finished product, matching advertisements with pages, and burns the whole thing onto a CD for our printer.

The fact that you hold this paper in your hands is a testament to the work of our circulation department, another star on my list of blessings.

Circulation Manager Diana Weber is always on the go tracking sales, going to events, getting our paper out to potential subscribers and circulation assistant Billie Marsala is at her side, making calls, handing out papers and selling the product of which we all are so proud.

Finally, there is our administrative staff. Thank God for Vice President of Finance Dorothy Gardner, who has been with SBJ through thick and thin. She keeps us on an even keel, keeps an eye on the bottom line and isn't afraid to tell it like it is. Everyone should have someone like Gardner.

Aiding and abetting Gardner in keeping the accounts payable paid, the accounts receivable received and the bottom line in the black is administrative assistant Amanda Cheffey. It's Cheffey's cheerful greeting that callers and visitors first hear upon contacting SBJ, and her friendly smile and manner that makes them glad they did.

Then there is SBJ founder and Pub-lisher Dianne Elizabeth. Her faith in SBJ and its staff has never wavered. The fact that we complete the monumental task of getting this paper out every week is in no small part a reflection of that faith.

And most of all, I am thankful for our readers, who make our efforts worthwhile every single week.