They say it takes a whole village to raise a child. I think the same is true, even truer, for a business because without the support of the community, the business will not progress.
With this edition of the Sun Day, we celebrate our one-year anniversary. And I can say with certainty that without the support of the greater community (both readers and advertisers and contributors), the Sun Day would not have progressed into the trademark publication in Sun City (and Huntley) it is today. At a year old, weāre still learning and still growing, of course, but weāre moving on well with only more growth in sight and better changes (youāll see one of them on the middle pages of this edition).
A favorite movie of mine is Way of the Gun (funny, I know, for a man thatās never held a real gun, much less fired one, in his life). At the climax of the movie, our heroes are holed up in a cantina, discussing their options for how to shoot their way out. Millions of dollars are at stake, and the odds are stacked against them, as theyāre heavily outnumbered. But they have skill and courage, and when one hero asks the other if they should make a plan for escape, the other says, āPlans are a list of things that donāt happen.ā Each agree. After that, they each take a quick drink and walk out into the blazing sun of the desert for what waits. No, John Wayne is not in this movie.
Itās a classic showdown weāve seen many times over, but it never fails to excite us. Why? Because we can relate. Everyone is an underdog sometimes. Because at one time or another (or for some, perhaps several times over), we find ourselves holed up in lifeās version of a desert cantina without a plan in the world and with seemingly insurmountable odds against us, and the only thing we can do is depend on our skill and courage and walk headfirst into what waits. Again, why? Because we all want to ride off into the sunset…with the girl, with the money, or in real life, with the wife, with the job, with the house, with the kids, etc…. But what the hero of any story really rides off with (whether it is a work of fiction or real life) is a chance. And thatās what we love most to see, to have, isnāt it? A chance.
Starting anything new is like this because in real life, a showdown is the period of transition, and starting the Sun Day was no different. I had plans, some worked, some didnāt. I had opposition (I have competitors, after all), and because of the economy putting print publications out of business in short order all over the country, the odds were stacked heavily against the Sun Day even making it a year. But I had skill, courage (which usually only came after the fact), and the encouragement of a few key people. And, with the continued support, here we are today, one-year old and standing!
Now before you ride off into another bright edition of the Sun Day, Iāll leave you with an ever popular and classic favorite: Trivia (of things that happened in the Sun Dayās first year.)
First email received: From Sun City resident Esther Bell on March 8, 2010 (only one day after the email address became active). The email was a write-up about the Third Annual Festival of Music by the Sun City Concert Band and Huntley High School music department.
First phone call received: From Sun City resident Mary Ann Harju, bright and early 7 a.m. on the Monday after the Friday the phone line became active. We have no idea how she got the phone number, as it hadnāt been publicized yet, but almost immediately after, we received an onslaught of calls.
First mailed letter received: From Sun City residents Colleen and Rusty Dowell, informing us about a carousel horse their son carved out of wood.
First advertiser: Was a Sun City resident. And weāre proud that our āfirst dollarā was not only made by a Sun City resident but also a service-disabled Vietnam Veteran. The advertising total added up to $666. As we refused to have the Sun Day start out on āthe sign of the devil,ā we gave the advertiser a dollar off!
Funniest one-liner: By a Sun City resident on a phone call only weeks ago. We received a message from a female resident, asking if she could have a copy of a picture that ran in a recent edition. When I called back to inquire about the details, she said, āYes, Iām the hooker.ā
Numbers: The Sun Day was started with only my wife Erika and I and handful of generous contributors willing to donate their time. Today more than 20 people operate the Sun Day.
Word travels: Before the first edition published, we received phone calls from two residents in the Sun Cities in Arizona, asking when the paper would come to them. We have no idea how they found out about it.
Cold feet: At the āmoment of liftoff,ā you could say, I froze up and almost didnāt start the Sun Day. At the time, I hadnāt done a thing that would be deemed a conflict of interest with the media company I worked for, so I could have turned back. But an early opposer of my efforts leaked word of the Sun Day to my employers. They were real quick to ārelieve me of my dutiesā in good standing, of course. It was the best push in the right direction I ever had.
