A Few Personal Thoughts for August 2025

It’s the first day of August 2024 as I write these words of an extra article on this website that is a personal reflection, marking a moment in time as we enter the final 5 months of the year.  Usually, most of my articles are related to Media, Marketing and Personal Insights.  This one is just the last without any Media and Marketing stuff, sort of like what I used to do before I launched this website in 2011 and these writings were being published on my ScLoHo Really? blog.  Also there is no podcast episode for this article.

Most days I don’t wake up to an alarm clock, unless I really have to be up earlier than normal.  I wake up naturally between 5 and 7am at the latest.  Today, I was out the door at 7am with a goal of enjoying the morning time before work and taking in some of the Sights Of The City.

The reason I capitalized Sights Of The City is that is the title of a series of Facebook posts I’ve been sharing deliberately since last summer.  These posts feature a picture I’ve snapped with my phone and often there is no explanation just a pic.  Some people comment and some try and guess where the picture was taken if it’s an unfamiliar shot.  The City happens to be where I’ve lived for the last 26 year, Fort Wayne Indiana.

Usually when I leave my home I swing by the nearest Taco Bell where I get a breakfast burrito for a buck fifty and a large Diet Dew, but they changed their hours from opening at 6:30 to 8am so that means I have some extra time beforehand.  Today I visited a few spots in town to take some more pictures and soak up the sunshine, plus get a little walking exercise along with the numerous others doing their early morning jogs and dog walks.

Before I was doing the Sights Of The City, I had another routine of grabbing my Taco Bell breakfast and heading to a park with water and posting those photos each day.  That was particularly helpful for my mental health during 2020.

As you recall, starting in March 2020, Indiana was shut down as a preventative measure to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus.  Like many of you, I was now working from home so to get out in the morning before jumping into my workday, was a great way to start my weekdays.

I’ve also noticed over the years that I enjoy spending a little bit of time around water.  I don’t need or want to live on a lake or river, but the opportunity to make a stop in my day to sit for a bit by a body of water is refreshing to me.

2020 was also a transition year for me.  Our company had some management changes that included my boss and friend Ben, to be promoted from General Sales Manager of WOWO radio, to VP/General Manager of Federated Media Fort Wayne. With Ben’s promotion, he needed to replace himself as General Sales Manager and in mid-February 2020, I took over as the GSM for WOWO.  Now instead of being one of 5 members of the WOWO advertising sales team, I was the leader, manager and coach of my former teammates which requires a very different skill set and revision of the application of my talents.  Fortunately, our company has an ongoing training and support system for this, but due to the pandemic restrictions, even that was upended as we adjusted to a video/virtual world instead of in-person meetings.

I served as General Sales Manager for close to 4 years including adding 3 more stations on an interim basis for the final year.  Me and my team were responsible for around 70% of the revenue for our Fort Wayne operations.  Deciding who was going to be on my sales team was one of the most important duties.  With WOWO, after a few months, I decided to let one of our underperforming sales persons go.  He was in his 4th year but performing as a Sophomore, not a Senior to put it in academic terms.  I was willing to help him get on track but he decided to refuse my help.

That was H.  During my management years, I also added and subtracted M.; W.; B.; G.; T; R.; T.; M, H.  That’s 10 people.  Two were hired by someone else and started the same week I took over in management.  Two of them quit on their own.  Two of them I hired for the radio station the Bear last summer (and one of those is still there).  Another in that list actually quit after I left management.

Despite helping two of my WOWO Sales Team reach new heights, we were starting to miss team budgets because of not having enough of the right players on our team.  When I moved to management, my role selling diminished.  The year before I moved to management, I won our company award for Account Executive of the Year and then spent the next couple of years transitioning nearly all of my accounts to others so I could focus on helping my team, not competing with my team.

In 4th quarter 2023 I stepped back from management and back to active sales on the WOWO Advertising Sales team.  We hired back a long time former Federated Media sales manager who initially took over the stations I was Interim General Sales Manager of, and then he also took over GSM duties for WOWO too.

A couple of big benefits for me is I’m not responsible for anyone other than myself again.  Instead of looking at spreadsheets and coaching our sales team, I get to spend my time working for my clients on my schedule.  Previously I had at least 9 weekly internal meetings, some weeks that ballooned up to 12.  For someone that is used to setting my own schedule in the office, that’s a lot of office time.

I used to brag to friends that there are only two hours a week that I needed to be at the office, and now that I’m back in active sales, that’s mostly true again.  Which leaves me with time to visit the various Sights Of The City, or a park with water, or take time off when needed.

Most weeks I am done by 3pm Friday because that’s the deadline for getting ads scheduled for the following Monday.  I’m usually putting in around 50 hours a week starting Sunday afternoons and some late evenings but most weekends start Friday around 4 and include all of Saturday as non-work time.

My wife and I have taken two long weekend vacations this year and I’ve got another trip planned for the end of this month to spend time with family because despite the fact I enjoy my work, it’s family I value above that, and while we can do video and voice, nothing beats a few hours in-person.

Speaking of family, both my wife and I have had daughters move out of state this year.  All of our 5 kids are from our first marriages, I had three, she had two and there are at least 11 grandkids ranging in age from preschool to in the Navy.  As an only child, I find it amazing that we have all this family!

I know that there is a whole lot of political news and international conflicts and all kinds of other things that take up space in all of our lives right now, but keeping ourselves centered is key to daily life.

Everyone of you and us have something going on in our lives “below the surface” that isn’t public.  For that reason alone, give others a little slack and grace. And give yourself some grace too.

The 64 year old ScLoHo has a lot more insight and perspective than I did when I was 32. There are a lot less big, life changing moments that we go thru than we think as we are going thru them.   There are a lot of little, life changing moments, and you and I get to have a lot more say in how our lives play out than we probably realize.  Spend your time on this planet wisely and that includes living a balanced life.   I get to serve as a volunteer again with some non-profits like I did before I was in management, perhaps that’s something you could do to?  The most recent was being a tech volunteer at our church running camera and powerpoints during some of the services this summer.  Other ways I serve are to use my professional experience in media and marketing and apply it to some non-profits that need my expertise.  The last couple of years I’ve resumed being a special guest speaker at area colleges and universities.

You have talents and abilities that you can give away too.

Even if you don’t sign up for anything, there are people around you that could use a friend, or at least a friendly ear. Not always to be their problem solver, but just to listen as they verbalize what’s going on and as they talk, they actually figure out their own solutions.  Can you do that?