Columnists

By Monty Siekerman
As I see it, Fred Steiner is an Innovator.

He began The Ada Icon a mere four years ago. In that short time, his efforts at founding this online means of communication garnered him and his wife Mary the award Business of the Year in Ada.

He accomplished that feat without being here 50 or 100 years. It took less than four years. Why?

Because The Ada Icon (and The Bluffton Icon, too) are effective in many ways.

The Icons build a sense of community in a village. People often report to me, "I didn't know all of that was happening in Ada."

This village is only about one square mile in size, but much goes on here.

By Monty Siekerman
What goes around, comes around...but a generation later.

When Gina Grandillo became president of the ONU student senate, it was, she said jokingly, a vindication for her dad.

Her dad, Mike, a 1979 grad, lost his run for senate president to a friend, Mark Palmer, by a mere 12 votes.

But Mike went on to big things. He is now president of Madonna University in Livonia, Mich., with about 1,000 more students than ONU.

Mark is successful, too. He its CEO and cofounder of a capital management group in Columbus.

In fact, Gina and Mark met this weekend on campus during the winter meeting of the ONU board of trustees.