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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1987-09-30, Page 21PAGE Z From one family to another . been n the Burgoyne family 95 years been 1 Standard Ltd. has The new owner of Signal -Star Publishing Ltd. is a newspaper family with almost a century of publishing experience. The Standard has been published daily in St. Catharines since 1891 and except. for its first year has been owned by suc- ceeding generations of the Burgoyne family. Current President and Publisher Henry B. Burgoyne and the St. Catharines Standard Limited now own and operate two daily newspapers and two community newspapers in Nor- thumberland County and five community newspapers in the Niagara Peninsula as well as The Standard, the company flagship. Mr. Burgoyne's interest in Signal -Star Publishing was born out of a frienship with owner Bob Shrier whom he had met at the Ontario Community Newspaper Association 1977 annual meeting. The friendship developed into a partnership in the Bradford Witness Publishing Company. When Mr. Shrier and his wife Jo decid- ed to sell Signal -Star Publishing, it wasn't a case of "willing sellers and will- ing buyer", said Burgoyne. "We are close friends and share a mutual respect.". The Shriers will remain on the board of directors of Signal -Star Publishing with Mr. Shrier chairman and Mr. Burgoyne President. Editorial control will remain with the Signal -Star newspapers and H. B. Henry Burgoyne St. Catharines Standard Ltd. and Signal -Star Publishing their names and format will not be changed. William B. Burgoyne, the great grand- father of the present publisher of The Standard acquired the paper in 1892 for a nominal sum and liability for the debts of the one-year old operation. The paper bested all competition, survived the Depression without layoffs and grew with the expanding community to reach to- day's circulation of almost 50,000. Henry Burgoyne attended Ridley Col- lege in St. Catharines and St. Thomas University, Fredericton , N.B. before starting to work full time at The Stan- dard in 1970 where he gained hands-on experience in most departments. He is also president of Rannie Publications Ltd., which operates the five Niagara papers and three Niagara magazines and is president of Northumberland Publishers Ltd. Mr. Burgoyne is a member of The • Canadian Press and a member and former director- of the Canadian Daily Newspaper Publishers Association. • In community organizations he is presi- dent of the Leonard B. Herzog Memorial Foundation to aid St. Catharines Hospitals and former director of The United Way, Henley Aquatic Association, Canadian Henley Rowing Corporation, Canadian Mime Theatre, Press Theatre, St. Thomas' Anglican Church and the Shaver Hospital for Chest Diseases. He is un the advisory committee of Junior Achievement of the Niagara Peninsula. For 95 of its 96 years, The Standard has been family-owned and 'community - involved, as much today as at any time in its history. Mr. Burgoyne sees con- tinued community-based and community - involved roles for the Signal -Star newspapers. -It is what we know and what we do - ,put ��„i good nrwsoaa out good ne�sspapers," he said in an interview yesterday. Mr. Burgoyne said he was thrilled with the acquisition of Signal -Star Publishing adding that the newspapers would con- tinue to operate independently. -Signal-Star Publishing will remain an independent corporate entity as a wholly owned subsidiary of St. Catharined Stan- dard Limited," he said. The staff will remain the same, we will not exercise <in\ editorial control and we will rely ahnusl totally on present management. It u a well-run operation and it makes good business sense to leave it alone." The' company will continue to operate under the local management of John Buchanan and 'Tim Flynn. Buchanan, ho is general manager of the printing division, has been with Signal -Star since 1955 and Flynn, general manager of publishing, is a 16 -year employee. Improvements will come as the times demand them, said Mr. Burgoyne. "The papers will grow with the communities." The Shriers purchased the 'Goderich Signal -Star from George and Gene Ellis in 1965 and a third partner, Howard Aitken, joined the company as vice- president one year later. Since 1965, the company has grown to Include eight community newspapers, a _newsmagazine and a thriving printing and mailing division. Located on Bayfield Road in the Goderich:'s Industrial Park, the company employs 145 people on a full and part-time basis. - Bob always envisioned that his company would be a success °from page 1 "There was great fear in that decision buy the press in 1966 and just one year later we purcahsed the Clinton News Record. Sometimes you have to create a certain reputation in an industry and the rest will follow." Subsequently, acquisitions did foal owhe and Signal -Star Publishing gr company never lost sight of its mandate and it continued to do what it does best: produce responsible community newspapers. "Unlike other newspapers, we were not in the commercial printing business. We gave it up and concentrated on newspapers and I think we did a better job on newspapers," Shrier said. "We specialized really and all those people who doubted our company were calling and asking about the press and 'business." As the company took the necessary risks, as it grew and prospered, Bob never lost sight of the vital cogs in that progressive wheel: his employees. Recalling that he was literally hiring peo- ple off the street and introducing them to newspaper work, it was the work ethic that inspired and impressed him. "People would work until 2 and 3 in the morning and they soon became deadline oriented," he said. "A lot of them gave up things to get the work done. There was a real pioneer spirit here among the employees." Even from the time the Shriers came to town in the early 1960s and struggled with the publishing business, Bob felt positive about the community, he felt it was "his conununity" and set about to in- ject it with a good measure of vibrancy. From that one newspaper, through to the installation of the web offeset press to the acquisition of several newspapers, Bob had always envisioned that Signal - Star would become a significant employer. R.G. Bob Shrier was a young publisher with progressive ideas back in the early 1960s. He had a vision for the company and it grew during his 22 -year tenure. But while the Shriers slowly watched their progressive company expand and outgrow even the new location on Bayfield Road constructed in 1974, the rewards didn't just relate to the size of the business. We saw the business grow and become big but we had worked towards that," he explained, "That kind of satisfaction is short-lived. You're too in- volved to reflect on it and the_pleasure is in the fun of doing it. -The real satisfaction for me has been watching the people grow and expand from jobs as pressmen and compositors into managerial positions. I can say I take pride i n what's happened to Signal - Star and its people." The employees, like the company, have grown and changed over the years in response to the direction of the business. The thrust of the publishing business has changed over the Shrier's 22 -year tenure but his philosophy about people is firmly entrenched. "If you give people an oppor- tunity to grow, they will grow," he said. It will be difficult for the employees and the community to imagine Signal - Star Publishing without the leadership of the Shriers, but Bob is completely op- timistic about the future of the company under the direction of Henry Burgoyne, President of St. Cathariens Standard Limited. I can see only good things for this company and it will be autonomous," he said. "I sold to Henry because I know his business philosophy, I know him as a friend and I know him as a man of in- tegrity. And I know that people from St. Catharines who will be in touch with our operation are simply excellent." - Letting go of Signal -Star Publishing leaves Bob' with a bit of an empty feeling. The company, afterall, represents, 35 years of dreams, ambitions, plans, doubts, hard work and fond memories. "It was my dream initially to own a newspaper and this company represents 35 years of dreaming and scheming," he recalled. "I will feel a bit of something missing." - Bob Shrier will still be involved in the company and has been appointed Chair- man of the Board of Signal -Star Publishing for a five-year period. he welcomes that contact with the company and claims the community newspaper in- dustry will be a vital and viable as ever in the years to come. - As we become more global in our perspective, the electronic media can cover all those aspects," he said. "People still, however, want to know what goes in their community. It's a very viable medium and the newspaper becomes like the Toronto Maple Leafs or the Chicago Cubs, people feel like they are a part of what you do. - "In essence, we are a trustee of something that everyone owns." Bob Shrier has left Signal -Star Publishing with a legacy of vision, hard work, integrity and the sense that we can accomplish, whatever we want and aspire to be whatever we dare to dream. Bob dared to dream and now, he has ,passed that dream on.