I was recently asked if I was going to sell the Yukon Progress newspaper so I could go to work as the store manager for the new Crest Foods grocery store that will be opening late next year.
Let me just say this. I have known Crest Foods owner Bruce Harroz for 35 years and I love the way his operation works. I love it so much that I set-up my newspaper operation under his business model based upon the idea that jealousy and sometimes emulation are the highest forms of flattery you can give a person.
I know a lot of Canadian County people and a lot of people in western Oklahoma that will be coming into the west metro area to shop at Crest and who I ultimately believe would come to see me. People want to go somewhere everyone knows their name.
However, I am NOT going to go to manage the new Crest Foods grocery store. I am, however, probably going to be helping them by placing advertising on their grocery sacks and the backs of their cash register tape.
I have had great success in saving grocery stores money by generating advertising revenue that eliminated some of their fixed costs. I will be in their store working but it will be selling subscriptions at the store like we do at other grocery stores in the area. I love the grocery business, but I love the newspaper business so much more.
I will be here in Yukon doing this as long as the local businesses advertise with us. I would have to leave though if President Trump calls me to become his press secretary!
Canadian County purple heart recipient Hoss Cooley stopped into the office early Thursday morning to visit with me. Hoss is working on some Veteran’s Day projects and wanted some old copies of the newspaper. He is apparently having a bunch of them framed for the guys and will be presenting them at a special ceremony here in a few weeks. I always stop what I am doing to talk with this great man. He took the time to fight for my freedom. I am pretty sure I can give him a few minutes of my time!
I am going to send Warren Buffett a letter asking him to come visit Yukon and to meet me for an ice cream cone at Dairy Queen. (Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway recently bought Dairy Queen). My (nurse) wife Valerie once took care of Mr. Buffett’s momma, back in Omaha, Nebraska, when she was very sick. Warren was always in the room with her and I think he wouldn’t mind a quick visit with me, Randy Wright, Jim Crosby, Scott Myrick, Ross Hill, Jay Emory and C.W. Wyatt.
Warren owns the Tulsa World and the Omaha World Herald. He loves newspapers, Dairy Queen and economic growth and development. What a summit we could have if we could pick his brain about growing our community.
All is fair in love and Warren!
I have a 20-foot tall inflatable black cat in my front yard that welcomes all my trick-or-treaters each year on Halloween night. In my neighborhood, it has become quite a novelty throughout the years. I used to give out 6-ounce samples of Monster Energy Drink to all the kids, but the parents all told me the kids were up until 4 a.m. because of it! I changed over to the full-size KIT KAT “Big Kat” candy bars. Now the kids only stay up until 3 a.m.!
Throughout my 30 years of working at the newspaper, I have established a standard that I will accept advertising (equal time) from anyone, anybody, any group or any organization, with the only two exceptions being palm and tarot card readers and the Satanic Church. Let me tell you why as we prepare for our Halloween celebration.
Back in my days at the Edmond Sun, I was asked to help this gorgeous woman (tarot card reader) with her AD in our Women’s magazine. I had an uneasy feeling about this transaction. I should have just walked away. The lady really worked me and talked me into getting this crazy-ass AD built and placed into the magazine with the assurance that she would pay for the AD once I brought her a copy of the finished product. I fell for it.
When I went back to her place of business, she didn’t remember any of our conversation and told me that bad things would begin to happen to me if I kept pushing her to pay! I was in no-kind-of-mood for things to start falling off me, so I paid for her AD myself and vowed never to accept these types of ADs again.
My next encounter with Satan … was when Kingfisher State Representative Mike Sanders, who literally campaigns 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, called me at the Piedmont Gazette to place a full page AD in protest of the Satanic church service that was going to be held at the COX Convention Center.
Mike built and provided me an AD but mistakenly identified the Satanic priest as a child molester. The actual child molester was the Satanic priest’s brother.
You talk about one hell of a mess! I will say no more. The bible says be careful who you associate with in business. I will leave the demons, witches and devils to Tom Hanks for his next movie!
Thanks so much for reading. I will see you next Saturday. Would you like a Progress?
