Stop the Presses: City goes red for heart health

Never mind that the College Street and Campbell Avenue intersection has been blocked most of the summer for construction related to College Station. Our downtown neighborhood has the look and feel of a war zone, and the staff of the Springfield Business Journal is proudly flying red banners to show that our blood is red and strong enough for the fight. Living and working in the midst of intense urban redevelopment, we are not at war with change. We are doing battle to help defeat heart disease.

The flowing red drapery suspended from SBJ’s upper story windows marks the front lines of American Heart Association’s heart-health awareness campaign. We’ve joined with other organizations in the Springfield area to defeat the power of cardiovascular disease, America’s No. 1 killer and the leading cause of disability.

Despite the fact that the media business is infamous as a high-pressure occupation, I don’t think our work is any more stressful than anyone else’s these days. Daily, even hourly, deadlines are the rule rather than the exception in every office. Everyone is working harder to make a living in this pressure cooker of a summer.

That’s why SBJ staff is taking time out to advocate heart-healthy living. We’re getting more exercise whether we want to or not. We may have to walk farther to park, but we’re grateful for the physical activity. We can outrun heavy equipment to avoid falling into trenches. We climb over gravel bunkers to cross the street, and we quickly skirt heavily fortified areas to get to work on time. We’re survivors.

We keep saying that what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. And seriously, we’re not going to let heart disease get us. We’re going to keep telling ourselves and our readers to get fighting mad – mad enough to run (or walk) for our lives, quit smoking, eat healthy foods and take our prescribed blood pressure medications.

American Heart Association’s awareness campaigns are evolving into a year-round effort. During the spring, we participated in Heart Walk. On Aug. 18, the Springfield Cardinals game will Go Red For Women at the ball park, and on Sept. 18, we’ll join in the popular Go Red For Women fundraising effort.

My own mother’s life was cut short by unrecognized heart disease. We’ve all seen the devastation that stroke can cause. Go Red before it strikes you.

Time to celebrate

As we celebrated the beginning of Springfield Business Journal’s volume 29 with our July 21 issue, the staff racked up awards for professional excellence.

SBJ’s motto is Pride In Publishing, and I’m keeping to that rule with my publisher’s pride in being associated with this staff.

In June, SBJ Editor Eric Olson went to Charleston, S.C., to accept the Alliance of Area Business Publication’s first place award for Best Feature Layout. Designer/photographer Aaron Scott, Reporter Jeremy Elwood and Features Editor Maria Hoover were recognized for their work in “Cracking the Codes,” a May 14 feature that examined the demographics of Springfield residential ZIP codes, providing readers with a quick gauge of the value of their homes, their neighbors and the neighborhoods around them.

AABP, an international association of regional business publications, also gave SBJ a third-place nod in its Best Ideas awards for our 12 People You Need To Know monthly breakfast series (see the ad on page 28).

The fact that Springfield Business Journal, representing one of the smallest markets in the nation to support a weekly business publication, has garnered these honors is no small feat in our profession. We’re proud to be standouts in an organization that boasts publications in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles, among many other great cities. I think this speaks volumes about the quality and vitality of the business and professional people of this region, as well as the excellence of the SBJ staff.

More recently, we learned that SBJ would be awarded honors for Best Web Site by Missouri Press Association. We will receive a second place award for Best Local Business Coverage, although it defies my imagination as to which Missouri publication will receive the first place plaque. I’m sure the judges will be convinced by next year’s entries that the honor belongs to us.

I’m so proud to be associated with all of our staff. It takes a team to publish our weekly Springfield Business Journal, biweekly Joplin Tri-State Business and SBJ’s can’t-do-business-without daily e-mail updates.

The job we do is all about people. If we ever forget that, then we should pack up our computers and reporters’ notebooks and go home.

Happy anniversary to the SBJ Publishing staff.

Dianne Elizabeth Osis is president of SBJ Publishing Inc. and publisher of Springfield Business Journal and Joplin Tri-State Business. She can be reached at delizabeth@sbj.net.