Three New Members to DSN Advertising Team

The Delaware State News is pleased to welcome 3 new members to the Dover advertising team.

Amber Frushon

Amber Frushon joined the team as an Advertising Manager in early December.  She is working in the Smyrna/Middletown/Odessa/Townsend area.  Amber is a native Delawarean; she spent majority of her childhood in Smyrna.  She is a graduate of the University of Delaware.  Before coming to INI Amber worked as the Program Director for the Smyrna Opera House and on-air talent for iHeart Media Inc.  She enjoys the beach, music and spending time with her family, friends and fur baby Milo. Amber is a longtime friend of the theater and recently joined the board of a local non-profit called the Young Actors Guild where she will be teaching children’s theater. 

Samantha Hemphill

Samantha Hemphill joined the team as an Advertising Manager in late December.  She is working in the southeast Dover/Camden-Wyoming area.  Samantha is also a native Delawarean.  She is a graduate of Wilmington University.  Before joining the Delaware State News Advertising Team Samantha worked in the restaurant & hospitality industries and served as the campaign manager for several political candidates.  Although her job keeps her running, Samantha is also a competitive runner. In the last two years she has run in four half marathons and one full marathon.  She is training now to complete her first duathlon in the spring and triathlon in the summer. Plus, in early February she will be completing her second Polar Bear Plunge to benefit the Delaware Special Olympics.

Wanda James

Wanda James joined the team as an Advertising Support Manager in mid-January.  She is working alongside long-time employees Sharon Harvey and Barbara Bryan.  Wanda has also been in advertising support for the bulk of her career – most recently for the News Journal in Wilmington and the Salisbury Daily Times.  When Wanda isn’t busy at work, her interests include gardening and dogs.  She is past president of the Dover Kennel Club and showed Shih Tzu’s. She’s had a Shih Tzu in her life since 1977!  She also enjoys traveling with her daughter, Danielle.

We are very pleased and excited to have these talented individuals on board.  Please join us in welcoming them to the team.

Tonda Parks Participated on the Panel of Experts at the CDCC

Tonda Parks, Delaware State News Vice President of Advertising Development recently participated on the panel of experts at the Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce Showcase event.  Tonda’s topic focused on networking and the variety of opportunities to do so with the Chamber of Commerce.  Other experts at the event included (left to right) Lisa Hastings with Faw Casson, Tonda, Drew Kennedy with SpotOnMarketing and Judy Diogo Executive Director of the Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce.  

TIM TO THE RESCUE, AGAIN!

On Saturday night January 24, 2015 we experienced electrical problems on the press that had us shut down, hard.  Nothing worse can happen especially on a Saturday night when we were preparing to print the Sunday DSN!  When this type problem occurs we call on our electrical technician Tim Buzzard who has been with us from day one of the KBA press installation.  Over the past ten years Tim has worked his “magic” to get us out of trouble more times than we can remember.  Once again, called upon to save our bacon, he had us back up and running in just a few short hours!

Amongst all DPC’ers Tim has near cult status as our very own superhero!  From fixing the press to repairing a clock on the conference room wall Tim is called upon to maintain almost everything in and outside our buildings and manage our safety program to boot. 

Tim, a BIG THANKS! from everyone in the company for all the times you have saved us from near disaster!   

Superhero” Tim Buzzard explaining to gm Tom Bugbee how he fixed the press problem last Saturday night.…

“and the knee bone’s connected to the thigh bone…”! 

2015 Edition of Kent County Profile Unveiled

DOVER – The Delaware State News unveiled its 2015 edition of the Kent County Profile on Jan. 13 at the Air Mobility Command Museum in Dover.

The glossy magazine, designed to serve as an economic development tool, is done in collaboration with the Kent Economic Partnership.

This year’s cover, unwrapped at the end of the breakfast meeting, featured the Painted Stave, a Smyrna distilling company which opened in 2013 and represented the entrepreneurial spirit of the area.

Ed Dulin, CEO of Independent News Media Inc. USA, and Tom Byrd, publisher of the Delaware State News, were among the day’s speakers.

Ed Dulin makes remarks to the crowd of more than 100 who attended the Kent County Profile breakfast and unveiling Jan. 13 at the Air Mobility Command Museum.

Delaware State News publisher Tom Byrd is shown addressing the audience. In the background is one of the museum’s many historic aircraft.

Delaware State News managing editor Andrew West gave a year-in-review presentation, highlighting more than 25 significant business accomplishments in the area.

Other speakers at the event included Tom Burns of Burns & Ellis Realtors, Denis McGlynn of Dover Downs Hotel & Casino, Ron Gomes of Painted Stave and Cindy Small of Kent County Tourism.

The host, Mike Leister of the AMC Museum, offered a welcome to the more than 100 business leaders who attended the event. The museum, which had more than 100,000 visitors in 2014, is home to the nation’s best collection of military airlift planes.

Shown, from left, are Denis McGlynn (Dover Downs), Andy West (Delaware State News), Ron Gomes (Painted Stave), Jim Waddington (Kent Economic Partnership), Tom Byrd (Delaware State News), Tom Burns (Burns & Ellis Realtors) and Cindy Small (Kent Tourism).

Delaware State News editorial team members Craig Anderson, Jamie Fritchman, Karen White and Dave Chambers pose next to the cover. Craig wrote the main story in the magazine, Karen handled copy editing, Jamie designed the cover and Dave took the cover photo.

The Delaware State News Advertising team greeted the event attendees at the door.  Left to right:  Ad Managers Samantha Hemphill, Katrina Sullivan and Amber Frushon, Promotions Manager Heather Cregar and (seated) Advertising Support Manager Wanda James.  Not pictured, VP of Advertising Development Tonda Parks.

Amazing

The Amazing Kreskin, the legendary mentalist who was a regular on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, reads the mind of Delaware State News features editor Craig Horleman after Kreskin’s performance at the Premier Centre For The Arts in Middletown on Jan. 16.

Craig’s Best Bets column featured an interview with Kreskin in advance of his Delaware performances. Photo by Dave Chambers/Delaware State News

W2s Available at See My W2

W2s are now available at See My W2.  Click on the link below.  If you registered in a prior year please use the same user name and password.  If you have never registered you will need the company code of 2014W2.

https://seemyw2.ceridian.com/seemyw2/cgi-bin/3pp.pl/eReports?cid=805339

Hardcopy W2s will be mailed next week.

Excellence Award Nominations

Nominations for Independent's annual Excellence Awards must be submitted by the Friday, February 13.   Nominations may be made by any employee.  The nomination form and more details are available at http://www.newszap.com/excellenceawards/nominationform.html

January Anniversaries

1/1, 55 YRS, Joel Smyth, Corporate

1/5, 6 YRS, Duane Clark, West Valley
1/6, 11 YRS, Dianna Sellers, Delaware State News
1/8, 2 YRS, Cynthia Paquette, Delaware State News
1/9, 2 YRS, Samuel Marmolejo, Valley Newspapers
1/10, 12 YRS, Marie Gaudin, Okeechobee News
1/10, 4 YRS, Norman Ross, Delaware Printing Co
1/13, 18 YRS, Judith Sheedy, Okeechobee News
1/15, 18 YRS, Robert Martin, Valley Newspapers
1/20, 4 YRS, Tamara Kelly, Okeechobee News
1/21, 1 YR, Cecilia Chan, West Valley
1/22, 8 YRS, Logan Anderson, Milford/Harrington
1/26, 6 YRS, Scherie Drzymalski, Corporate
1/29, 9 YRS, Chad Young, Valley Newspapers

January Birthdays

1/1, Noelle Poore, Corporate

1/2, Amber Frushon, Delaware State News
1/3, Cathy DiMaio, Delaware State News
1/4, Tavaris Johnson, Valley Newspapers
1/5, Stephanie Thomas, Valley Newspapers
1/7, Philip Bisesi, Valley Newspapers
1/7, Jan-Dhu McKinney, North Valley
1/8, Tyrell Sullivan, Delaware Printing Co
1/11, Eleanor LaPrade, Delaware State News
1/13, Yvonne Kirksey, Delaware State News
1/14, Jasper Purnell, Delaware Printing Co
1/16, Maryam Noroozipuya, Delaware Printing Co
1/16, David Rehkamp, Delaware Printing Co
1/18, Frank Dias, West Valley
1/18, Cathy Koyanagi, Salisbury
1/18, Sandra Stokes, The Banner
1/19, Duane Clark, West Valley
1/19, Matthew Trently, Delaware Printing Co
1/22, Donny Jacobs, Valley Newspapers
1/24, Vernon Bailey, Delaware Printing Co
1/25, Benjamin Cruz, Valley Newspapers
1/25, Sharon Harvey, Delaware State News
1/25, Jorge Medina-Serna, Valley Newspapers

Talent Abounds at DSN Over the Holidays

As we all know, we (in the media) work with many talented people.  But, at the holidays you frequently get to see some talents from your coworkers that go beyond their day-to-day work. 

For example, if you work in the Dover office, you probably enjoyed the baking talents of Editor Karen White.  For one of the office’s many Christmas lunches she brought in a chocolate cake, topped with poinsettia-decorated red velvet cupcakes and surrounded by tree-topped almond pistachio cupcakes, too!  Yummy!

For this same Christmas lunch, Community Advertising Consultant Vicki Rosado also impressed us with her culinary skills by making empanadas. If you spent too much time asking, “What’s an empanada?” or “What’s in it?” then you probably didn’t get to enjoy this savory hand pie.  Sigh!

Graphic Artist Sue Short, who shows off her artistic talents every day in the pages of the Delaware State News, reminded us this holiday season that you don’t need a computer to create beautiful artwork.  Her painting of a barred owl featured on her Christmas card is truly special.  Beautiful!

And, the talent in Dover continues to shine… If you were fortunate enough to venture into downtown Dover on the evening of December 4 to join in the Capital Holiday Celebration then you witnessed this talent first hand.  A dozen of the finest vocalists from our office competed in a carol “sing-off” competing against the local Chamber of Commerce and the local government officials among others.  The INI group repeated their much loved version of “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” to the screaming requests of their fans.  The tempo this year was upbeat, jazzy and loud… just what the holidays needed!  Although the group was told this wasn’t a competition… they followed the lead of CEO Ed Dulin who sees everything as a competition and really gave their all for this exclusive performance.  In addition to Ed and his wife Ann, the expert carolers included Delaware State News publisher Tom Byrd and his wife Pam, Delaware Printing Company General Manager Tom Bugbee and wife Sherrill, DSN VP of Advertising Development Tonda Parks and husband Joe, News Support Specialist Tim Spong, Ad Managers Cyndi Eldred and Katrina Sullivan and Promotions Manager Heather Cregar.  As this feisty and festive group sang, the crowd sprang to their feet to dance and sing along.

 

And… just as Ed had suspected… a few days after the event, Dover Mayor Robin Christiansen presented the group with a “Best Vocal Group” trophy.  The pressure is on for 2015!  Be sure to watch for your opportunity to help us win the trophy again!

 

This is just a small sample of the talent that surrounds us each day.  Hope you get to see some of your local talent first hand in 2015!

The True Meaning of Christmas

I would like to give a very BIG Thank You to all the people of the DSN/DPC family that so graciously donated to our Toys for Tots drive this year held at Big Lots. We were able to fill over 2-1/2 truckloads of toys and received many cash donations. The Marine  Reserves Toys for Tots was committed to 1005 families and 200 more were on the list. Any toy or money donation no matter how small can help make just one child have a Merry Christmas and again I can’t thank everyone enough who continues to help support us every year. See you again next year.

Thank You

Toni Hewes
Delaware Printing Company

 

EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Nominations sought

It's that time again to recognize those persons who have proven their excellence in helping Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA fulfill its mission to the communities we serve. Employees are invited to nominate coworkers for the annual Excellence awards. These awards honor persons and teams whose practice of our core values have moved Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA closer to its goal of publishing purposeful newspapers. In the past, honorees have come from every facet of our operation - advertising, distribution, production, administration and news. They have been team leaders and team members, new employees and veterans. Their common quality is that each has been a model of excellence.

 Nominations may be made by any employee. A nomination form is available at http://www.newszap.com/excellenceawards/nominationform.html. All submissions should be made using this form.  Deadline for nominations is Friday, February 13.

A list of previous winners can be found at Excellence Awards link at Press Lines and can be a useful reference tool when preparing a nomination since previous winners cannot win more than once in the same category. Winners will be announced in late March or early April.

Below is the list of traditional categories for these awards.  However, this year we will allow employees to submit new categories they feel may also be appropriate in keeping up with our changing industry.  For example, suggestion might to create an award for "Digital Transformation," to recognize a leader in improving our web sites and helping to build a larger online audience for newszap.com.

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Purposeful newspapers: This person or team has excelled in furthering Independent's key Value - to publish purposeful newspapers that encourage and support meaningful community involvement, and that provide citizens with knowledge they need to make rational decisions about public issues.

Commitment: Recognizes service above and beyond daily expectations because of deep commitment to our mission/ journalistic values.

Self-management: Recognizes the person whose acceptance of personal responsibility for his or her own success and that of Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA is a model and inspiration to others.

Learning: Recognizes the person who has successfully committed to continuous learning and growth, especially in ways that enable he or she to help advance the mission of Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA.

Courtesy, ethical standards: Recognizes the person or team that excels in courtesy to customers and co-workers, and whose high ethical standards match those needed to achieve INI’s key values.

Teamwork: Recognizes the person who has achieved excellence in team building or a team that has achieved the coherence and esprit that has enabled it to produce outstanding results for the company's success, for maintaining pleasant and safe working conditions, and for recognizing fellow staffers who are upholding the company's values and contributing to its success.

Leadership/ shared leadership: Recognizes the individual regardless of position whose leadership has inspired or led others. This person demonstrates that at Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA, we prosper through self-empowerment rather than supervision. Team leaders also may be recognized for having practiced a shared leadership that has empowered others.

Results: This award demonstrates how the practice of Independent's values results in outstanding journalism, sales, productivity enhancements, safety improvement or other business objectives that make Independent a stronger company and a better place in which to work, and in turn, improve our communities.

Jim Miller Award: The award honors the writer or editor whose work displays the spirit, color, warmth and human touch of the late Jim Miller.