Big Change At The News

Jeff Green | Sep 25, 2013

We are saying goodbye to someone who we never thought would stay as long as he did, but who we hoped would never leave.

It was eight years ago and we were looking for an ad sales representative. For a business that is entirely supported by advertising revenue, this was obviously a crucial hire for us. Jane Drew, who was running the Treasure Trunk, which at the time was located next to our office in Sharbot Lake, said her husband Garry would be interested. I knew Garry a little from the auction business that he was running at the time, so I called him.

“I guess I should come and work for you,” he said, as Jane had obviously forewarned him of the call. I'm not sure if he was hired from the phone call or if we had a formal interview, but it was clear we were not going to find someone else with his experience and local knowledge. He was a sales manager for Moore Business Forms for most of his adult life and had recently retired from that job, but as anyone who knows Garry can tell you, he wasn't ready to sit at home, not quite yet.

So, he came on and took over the ad department. He made sure all of our valuable regular advertisers were taken care of by our office, and he not only sold advertising but also promoted the Frontenac News wherever he went in Frontenac County, Addington Highlands, and Lanark County from the day he came into our office until the day he left two weeks ago.

Garry was our face to the people who make the newspaper’s existence possible, and while those of us back at the office might suffer from inconsistencies now and then, Garry never wavered in making sure his customers were satisfied. And he was the first to let us know when we fell short of that goal.

I sometimes thought that his main reason for working for us was that it gave him an opportunity to talk to a lot of people, which he likes doing, and to find out some of the interesting details of life in Cloyne, or Harrowsmith, Perth or Plevna. He also enjoyed bringing those stories back to the news office after his daily travels, and I would sometimes linger in the office, waiting for his return to hear the real “news” from the road.

For a few years now Garry has said at the beginning of each January that it would be his last year, and then on or around August 1 he would say he was willing stay another year. Last August he said he wanted to stay for six months into 2013, and later he said he wanted to leave after Labour Day but would stay until the end of the year if necessary.

I finally took the hint, although I did not really want to, and began looking for a replacement.

When we found out that Terry Shea was available, I knew we could finally let Garry retire in peace. Before I say something about Terry, I have to share one more story. Garry made the rounds every week: Mondays up north, Tuesdays down south, and Wednesdays in and around Sharbot Lake or over to Perth.

A few months ago he sold an ad to a company in Perth. It was the first large ad he'd ever sold to them; until then they had sponsored events now and then, but never bit on something substantial.

But it was not the first time he talked to them about a potential ad. In fact he had almost sold them an ad every few months for years. But they never came through. This time they did. I asked Garry how many times he went to see them over the years. “About every two weeks, usually only for a few minutes, but sometimes they wanted to talk.”

The fact that Garry went back time after time to an advertiser who never came through, and the fact that he did it without alienating them, without being pushy, just waiting for them to come through - that shows what a salesman is all about - constancy and patience in equal measure.

To Jane and Garry, we wish you all the best.

I first met Terry Shea at a meeting of North Frontenac Council, in 2004. He had just started on as the general manager of the Land O'Lakes Tourist Association, and North Frontenac Township had pulled their support from the organization a few months earlier. Terry did not ask them to renew their support at that meeting. He just told them what LOLTA was doing in general and in North Frontenac particularly. He came back every few months with an update, and also kept township staff informed about projects that were ongoing. Within a year North Frontenac had renewed their support for LOLTA, and have been a major booster of the organization ever since.

While at LOLTA, Terry also initiated the Vision awards for businesses within the region, and he was the one who came up with the concept of “Accessible Wilderness”, which resulted in some significant upgrades for a number of tourist-related businesses in Frontenac and Lennox and Addington Counties. Terry worked in marketing in Kingston for many years before joining LOLTA in 2004, and since he left LOLTA in 2008 he has worked for the City of Kingston as a rural liaison officer.

He started working for us this week, and we are looking forward to his assistance in maintaining and improving the service we provide to customers and to the readers of the Frontenac News.

Welcome aboard, Terry.