13 years ago today, the first edition of BladenOnline was online … two employees, one paid. … Ken Pervine, a local individual at that time who had much experience with the Internet, and I set out to cover news in Bladen County. That was our goal. … And, I was not the paid employee … never was. … And Ken was providing the technical expertise … building the site, uploading, downloading, etc.
To set the stage, the local newspaper had been sold to an outside group and staff cut back. … Many local governmental bodies were not being covered. … Commissioners (part-time coverage), Board of Education, the towns in the county, Board of Elections. … If you recall in 2008, a recession was causing concerns for all.
I had recently retired as Field Rep for North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, tired of travel but still very interested in the local community … had nearly 25 years at the local radio station prior to the NCACC work. … Mike Simmons, editor at the Bladen Journal, was having some health issues and was retiring, but not ready to retire. … We had been neighbors, had many of the same interest, neither had more money than we needed but we decided to begin an online newspaper. Mike would do the news, I would be the salesperson, the legs for our new business. … Our original plan was to launch in late 2007. A few weeks before that time, Mike suffered a health issue that claimed his life…
Now what? I shelved the idea. I could not possibly do it alone and even the desire to begin was not strong enough to invest a lot of money, for a retired person with limited resources, I still wanted to do the project, to provide the service that was not being provided at the time…
So, with the assistance of Ken Pervine, I decided it would be a ‘go’ in early February 2008. Purchased 40 small signs and placed them strategically throughout the county and I began covering meetings … just me. Saw that was not going to work, so I asked a few folks to cover some meetings on a part-time basis … and I continued as well.
At least we were providing a service that was not being provided. … Easy??? heck no, very stressful … but worth the effort. … That is how it began. … Later had some part-time help, then a full-time person and we were off and running…
We had to prove ourselves to our advertisers and readers … our goal … do our best for them and us.
It was a new experience for our readers … online only … but it began to be a regular source of news and today, it continues. … I sold to Daine and Charlotte Smith when I matured to the mid to late 70s. Needless to say, I am so happy it continues today … Perfect??? No, never has been but better than any other locally owned effort I am aware of…
That’s my story … and our promise remains the same. … The Best Is Yet To Come…
“The secret of change is to focus all your energy not on fighting the old but on building the new.” Socrates
“Always deliver more than expected.” Larry Page, co-founder of Google
“If people like you, they’ll listen to you, but if they trust you, they’ll do business with you.” Zig Ziglar
robert g hester
rgh4612@gmail.com
910-876-2322
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