By Monty Siekerman
You can spell success A-D-A-I-C-O-N.

The year 2016 began with the Ada Area Chamber of Commerce naming the Ada Icon the Business of the Year, which is unusual for a company that began less than three years ago.

Why such an honor?

Owners Fred and Mary Steiner developed a product that meets the needs of the community: providing news and photographs of local people and events that affect the lives of residents.

Here's the proof:

• There were 221,930 page views last year, an astounding 24 percent increase in one year.

• People from 146 countries read news of Ada on the Icon. That's probably more countries than most UN officials or stamp collectors could name. That's an increase of 30 countries.

• But not all were far-away readers. Over three-fourths of the readers live in Ada and Alger and Hardin, Allen, and Hancock counties. It's the more local readers that advertisers want, so along with the boost in readership, advertising increased, as well. The ads pay for the free Ada Icon.

"The Ada Icon is a win/win for the community, providing local news and a means of advertising," the Steiners said.

• Here are the top cities where Ada Icon readers come from: Ada-Alger, Kenton, Lima, Bluffton, and Bellefontaine.

• Top states are Ohio, Michigan, Florida, Illinois, California, Texas, Indiana, and Pennsylvania.

• Top countries are USA, Malaysia, United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Russia, India, Brazil, and Germany.

• Top stories: missing teen found in Indianapolis, Ada police officer taken to hospital, Vancrest opening and hiring. Classifieds, photo gallery, obits, calendar, and sports were well read, as well.

• Monty Siekerman, recently named Ada Icon editor, said that positive changes are planned for 2017 in the areas of news, photos, layout, and advertising, which should make the online news service even more valuable to readers.

News may be submitted to him by texting or emailing 419-303-3439 or w.w.w.adaicon.com. And, don't forget to like the Ada Icon on Facebook. Happy New(S) Year!

PHOTO: Ken Collins, Ryan Lowry, Gayle Lowry, Mary P. Steiner, Fred Steiner, Darlene Bowers, Monty Siekerman.