By Scott Robertson
We’re very honored here at The Business Journal to partner with the city of Kingsport, Tenn., to publish the city’s official centennial publication. It’s something I’ve been working toward since having a conversation with my old boss Ken Maness several months ago.
Ken, who gave me my first job out of college, selling radio advertising on what was then Oldies 104.9 WKOS, and whose bio I had the honor of writing for his induction into the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame, was talking with me about a Centennial publication Derby Publishing had produced for the Chamber of Commerce Serving Johnson City, Jonesborough and Washington County. It was a newsprint publication filled with historical information, much of which pertained to the growth of the business community over the previous 100 years. In his accustomed casual, friendly manner, Ken mentioned that we might have a similar opportunity in 2017.
I’ve known Ken long enough to have seen him point out potentially large opportunities with seemingly small statements before. He’s good at dropping the first bread crumb, then watching to see what happens next.
From there the project blossomed. Jeff Williams, our director of business development and marketing and I have met with city officials and members of the Kingsport Centennial Commission, and we believe we have planned a publication of which all Kingsport will be proud.
I want to stress that this is a partnership between the city of Kingsport and The Business Journal. That’s important.
This isn’t something we’re just happening to do at the same time as the Kingsport centennial that led us to think, ‘hey maybe there’s an opportunity here to make a quick two bits.’ This is an almost year-long project on which we’ll be working alongside Kingsport’s best and brightest, from business leaders to government officials to archivists and historians.
We look forward to creating something truly special. As Jeff Williams said, we are eager to partner with communities if the partnership benefits our business and the community. This project fits that bill perfectly.
Since 1988 The Business Journal has preached the gospel of doing business in a way that lifts both our individual communities and our region as a whole. We’re grateful to our partners in Kingsport for this opportunity to show just what we mean.
