My brother, Kevin, and his wife, Linda, are co-chairs of the 2017 United Way Campaign in Stark County, Ohio. Needless to say, I am very proud of both of them, their history of success in business and their willingness to give back to their community.
But that’s not the point of this blog post.
What has “Everybody Sells” have to do with my family members leading that campaign?
Let me explain.
The Canton Repository is the largest daily newspaper located in Stark County. Kevin, my other siblings and I grew up reading the “Rep” as it is often referred to by locals. We delivered the newspaper in our neighborhood.
While I do not currently reside in Canton or Stark County for that matter, I made a trek to the newspaper to purchase several back copies containing the story and picture about Kevin and Linda. I wanted to share the copies with family and friends.
Allow me to “introduce” you to Gwen Miles.
Gwen is, what I would call, “The Director of First Impressions” at the Repository. Some may refer to her as the receptionist. Gwen is a pleasant, friendly person and she assisted me in obtaining the back copies. (As did single copy manager Cam Denbrock…thanks Cam! Cam is another great representative of the Repository.)
And then Gwen did what all newspaper staff, regardless of role at the newspaper, should do. She attempted to sell me a home delivery subscription.
After I informed Gwen that, while I did grow up in Canton, I don’t live in the Repository’s distribution area, she quickly changed gears and informed me that digital subscriptions to www.cantonrep.com are available as well. She proceeded to explain how I could be informed about local events and information via this digital subscription. She pulled out all the stops in her friendly, pleasant manor.
Gwen’s “presentation” was sincere, professional, timely and informative. She obviously knows the product and the various platforms from which it can be accessed. She realizes the value of a community newspaper and the importance of being informed about the community. In other words: she meant what she said and she nailed it.
The newspaper industry needs more people like Gwen.
So as I conclude my first week as a very satisfied digital subscriber to www.cantonrep.com I want to say three simple words: Thank You Gwen.