The Mail-Journal, Volume 19, Number 28, Milford, Kosciusko County, 28 July 1982 — Page 5

A profile — Puts 'people business' experience to work for Chamber of Commerce

By GARY LEWIS Henry Smith has been involved with the “people business’* for some 25 years now. First as a teacher, then principal of Wawasee High School and now as bank manager of the new Lake

‘77/ do the job for them, 1 hare no fear about that" - Henry Smith, new Chamber of Commerce preaident.

City branch bank in Syracuse. In those 25 years, Smith has served in a number of civic organizations. That need for involvement in his community has led him to his latest affiliation with the SyracuseWawasee Chamber of Commerce. When he attended his first meeting the group appointed him on its board of directors. During the same meeting, Smith found himself in the running for the presidency. After all who were queried declined. Smith accepted. This acceptance by default is something Smith is aware of “My position was not an achieved position. I’ve stated that openly and I’m very honest about that,’’ said Smith. He said he felt the board of directors selected him as president because of his background in education helped him in dealing with people. “There were justifiable reasons why others might not have wanted to consider the position and might have deserved

‘What A Fantastic Job These Volunteer Firemen Do!’ These words are from Mike Umbaugh, president of Barth, Inc., following the Sunday morning fire at their Milford motor home manufacturing plant. fcVfcSW Umbaugh Added — ‘We were all real impressed with the job these volunteer fire departments doF He referred to the Milford, Leesburg and Syracuse fire departments. “They Are Obviously Well Trained.” A Real ‘Thank You 9 From Barth, Inc. — Mike Umbaugh, President

it more,** he said. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding his appointment, Smith believes he can do the job. “I’ll do the job for them, I have no fear about that. My only concern is that I do the right thing they want,’* he

said. Smith will report directly to the board of directors. Always being on the “fringe area” of the business profession before. Smith finds himself out of familiar education circles and into a different community. Now that he is branch manager at Lake City, he feels he is a member of the business world. "I have no fear regarding my ability to work with business people because I am now one. I think to be a successful business person, you have to be people orientated. This people management involves knowing when and how to motivate, noted Smith. It means

**/l « not juat hitting a machine that coats you 91.000f0r fire minutea of work, il'a knowing where to hit it."

knowing when to compliment and when to “put the finger down a little bit," he said. His overall goal as president is to bring more unity to the

chamber. Smith hopes his background will be an asset in achieving this goal. “The key to it is unity and that’s hard to achieve. I don’t see it as impossible in this community,’* said Smith; A right step to reaching that goal is a planned organizational structure and Smith is working on such a plan. He will present his plan for approval by the board of directors at the next meeting. “I will be recommending to the board of directors an organizational structure at the Aug. 4 meeting and within that structure, assignment of people to responsible positions from the board of directors, and membership,” said Smith. A similar structure was designed by his predecessor. Phyllis Lauden, and Smith plans to continue her plan with some modifications. He wants to push harder for acceptance of this structure, which he said might mean another meeting a month for those involved, by making his plans in writing. Included in his plans for the chamber is the continued work of

the retail-merchants division and assisting the park and recreation department s activities Smith sees his role as president as channeling “the energies .. to

assign people to positions of leadership using their abilities and to promote enthusiasm. Compliment when it is due, criticize when it is not. “It’s not just hitting a machine that costs you SI,OOO for five minutes of work, it’s knowing where to hit it,” be said. Knowing “where to hit it” means having the right kind of people working with you, said Smith. He plans to have a total “team-management approach” in directing the chamber of

11111 1 v "I gueaa I hare aome time I can derote to it and I think thal'a the biggest thing that can begiren is time to the organisation."

commerce. The chamber’s officers — vice-president William Beemer; secretary James Caskey; treasurer Robert Mauzy; and executive secretary Joseph Gray — will be playing a key role with Smith in discussing specific policies of the organization. Smith plans to consult the officers before making any proposals with the majority decision being the direction he will take. "If you surround yourself with quality people, and those people work,” said Smith, one can still succeed even if he doesn't do his job. “Very seriously, if you’re surrounded by quality .. . I’ve seen many fine people that were very capable leaders, very capable business people, that did

not have those quality people around them. They tried to do it on their own and didn’t make it,” said Smith. His new career in business has forced him to do a lot of adjusting. After working 16 to 18 hour days in education, he is finding “bankers hours” a difficult thing to get adjusted to. “Getting adjusted to the banking world where I’m on duty at 9 and I can be home at 5 is an adjustmentforme. .. Where I can have lunches, and I’ve never had those in 24 years — I was always on duty,” he said. “I guess I have some time I can devote to it and I think that’s the biggest thing that can be given is time to the organization,” said Smith. Even with all the time be plans to give to the job, he is still not going to make any forecasts. “I’ll

give it a shot and see what happens. I’m no miracle worker ... and I make no promises. It is a continuation of a Phyllis Lauden position with a new personality, new thoughts and objectives.' ’ said Smith. Prisoner escapes from jail A prisoner fighting extradition to Virginia escaped from the Kosciusko County Jail at 2:35 a m. today (Wednesday). Authorities said William Ray Wheatley, 22, picked the lock of the detoxification cell he was being held in at the jail, fled down a 50-foot hall into the facility’s booking area, and escaped out of a window. At the time of the escape the dispatcher and jailor, who was making rounds, were on duty. They became aware of the escape when Winona Lake officer Jerry Holderman passed the jail and noticed the screen out of the window involved. Units from Warsaw, Kosciusko County and the Indiana State Police all were involved in the search for Wheatley, as was a canine unit from Elkhart County, but he remained at large as of late Wednesday morning. Authorities said Wheatley should be considered dangerous. He is described as being five foot, 10 inches, 130 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes Wheatley earlier attempted suicide while in the jail. Distinguishing marks include a fresh scar on his left arm, and a tattoo reading “M. 8. also on his left arm. Milford woman drives into side of building The north side of the McDonald’s Restaurant, 315 Detroit St., Warsaw, had an estimated SIO,OOO damage when a car rammed the building near a side door. Opal J. Harman, 77, r 2 Milford, tried to pull her auto into a parking space but pulled in too far, causing her auto to jump the sidewalk and hit the building. A passenger in her auto, Martha Rowlette, 77, 320 West Main St.. Warsaw, sustained contusions on her lower leg in the accident. The automobile was damaged less that S2OO. The complete damage estimate to the building was between SIO,OOO and $25,000. Quayle Reports By a voice vote, the United States Senate passed an amendment to the tax bill which allows hospice care costs for the terminally ill to be covered by Medicare. U.S. Senator Dan Quayle (RInd ), a member of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee, is a co-sponsor of the legislation and a strong advocate of hospice care. The hospice approach to the terminally ill is one which keeps the patients free of pain while keeping them alert so they can interact with their families It also provides for supporting care and counseling of the patients and their families. Hospice care originated in the United Kingdom and has grown to abort 1,000 hospice programs in various stages of development throughout the United States. During the Senate debate. Senator Quayle said the hospice approach “offers the terminally ill and their families away to approach death with dignity and sensitivity.” After passage of the amendment Quayle said, “I’m extremely pleased the Senate chose to pass this legislation. It will provide for an improved quality of life for the terminally ill.” The House has a similar bill pending. Once it gains approval by that body it must go to conference. The Senate amendment permits all forms of hospice services to be paid under Medicare.

The Mail-Journal employee Donna Arnold Donna Arnold is the person behind the friendly voice that answers the telephone at the main office of The Papers Incorporated in Milford. As receptionist, Donna answers | telephone calls and handles most of the classified ■ ads at Milford. She also assists in the billing of classifieds. Donna was bom in Rock Rapids, lowa, a small farming community on the Minnesota Dakota borders. Before joining our staff this spring Donna , ran her own business, Thorny Hollow Studio, j doing custom design handwoven pieces. She also I taught adult education weaving classes. She and her husband, Stephen, have three sons, Mark, 16; Brian, 12; and Sean, seven. The family resides in Syracuse. Donna enjoys training golden retrievers for ! field trials.

Letter to the editor

Three cheers Dear Editor: Yes, I give three cheers to the town employee who wrote in July 22 Mail-Journal, you sure told it like it is. And now my own comments: First, I’ve been so mad since the start of the Demolition Derby on the old town hall and the wasted money on the monstrosity building (the old rubber co. building) which was a disaster before it was purchased, now that is all money over the proverbial dam. My belief is if they had moved into the old house by the fire station, tore down the monstrosity, built their new town hall, moved into it, then tore the old house down they would have made sense. But no, down with both, move out of SR 13, pay rent on a dead horse, plus all utilities, and make it so inconvenient for the older citizens and disabled to get too. Do they think the people of Syracuse are stupid? Then they give themselves a nice fat pay raise. What kind of raise did they afford the EMS squads, fire department and town employees? You can bet if they need a fire truck or ambulance they won’t call South Bend. (Seems we have a little Washington D.C. right here in Syracuse.) Also, the sewer lines in our area are deplorable. I don't know how many hook ups empty into the basin at the corner of W. Thank you Dear Editor: Thank you so much for your generous donation to our building fund. Each donation makes our goal more possible. It is good to feel the community behind us. Thank you again and may you have a very prosperous year. Sincerely, Sherry Leedy Lakeland Community Daycare Center P. S. Thank you for thinking of us while planning your road race. Hit and skip under investigation by Milford police Milford Town Marshal David Hobbs and Deputy Jon Dewart are continuing investigation of a hit and skip accident on Main Street in Milford Friday evening. The accident was reported at 10:15 p.m. A 1979 Olds, owned by Frank Beer, r 1 box 250 Milford, was damaged an estimated S4OO.

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Wed., July 28,1982— THE MAIL-JOURNAL

’*=•’ V — J >: // J,-— . -4

Boston, and S. Main, but the stink is almost too much at times. It is all the time. During the flood period in the spring, the sewer backed up in ours and our neighbor’s basements. In ours alone, it was over a foot deep and you can’t begin to know what damage we had to our appliances. The cost was horrendous, plus by husband spent over one and one-half weeks pumping it out, losing sleep and rest. Why can't the town do something about this sewer problem. They seem to have money to throw away on such unnecessary things like a fabulous new town hall and pay increases. It seems something less expensive would have sufficed. At least until our economy straightened itself out. And then there is the matter of unsightly brush laying along the streets for two weeks because the town employees had to work at the Demolition Derby site instead of helping keep our town clean. I know they can’t do everything at once and I commend them for what they do, but I think their first priorities are doing the job they are hired for — not helping someone" else do their job they are paid a lot of money to do. The Demolition crew should have done what they made the town employees do. Our town officers. They are such a good crew. Always alert

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and “johnny-on-the-spot,” if you can find one and he will respond after he has his coffee break. Now I know all of them, and like than, but why does it take them so long when called to make the scene. I called one in reference to one of my neighbors who had in the past spent a large sum of money to roof her shop. Some kids were on the roof running around (she was gone) and by the time the officer got there the little darlings were home tucked in bed. I know that he knew who they were, but he didn’t stop to talk to them. Now our clerk-treasurer has the gall to say she should have a front office in the new town hall, instead of in the back. Doesn’t she think the officers should be up front? Maybe if they are not drinking coffee they could spot some speeders, or offenders that way. Now if anyone identifies themselves in any of these articles I have written, good. I intended it that way. I know I’m not very popular in this town due to some of the but be it as it may. One thing for sure is the town Dads can’t fire me. And I will sign my name as I still have the right to voice my opinions. Laura McClintic Syracuse

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