By Paula Scott
Bluffton Icon and Ada Icon editor-owner

On Friday, November 11, I posted an item noting that the Icon office would be closed for the day. It is part of my new scheme to schedule a few days off while the Icons provide fresh content every day. The item resulted in a letter that opened, “You FINALLY have identified yourself….” 

Perhaps this would be a good time to reintroduce myself.

On October 1, 2021, I became the full-time owner-editor of the Bluffton Icon and Ada Icon news websites. I am Iconoclast #2, a title created by the Icons’ founder Fred Steiner.

Prior to this, I held two part-time jobs: director of the Bluffton Area Chamber of Commerce and director of the Bluffton Center for Entrepreneurs. Indeed, I jumped head first into digital news without any journalism credentials and began covering all of Bluffton’s and Ada’s happenings and organizations without a born-in Bluffton or Ada knowledge base.

One year in, I’m very happy that I took the leap. I have to thank Fred Steiner and Ryan Lowry, the Icons’ website developer, for helping make the transition as smooth as possible. They have fielded innumerable questions and helped me figure out how to handle unfamiliar situations. My initial expectation was when I made it through year one, I’d be all set. I know now that news isn’t that predictable and that’s what will keep the job exciting.

A big thank you also goes to all of the content contributors and people who provide feedback. If you find a mistake on the pages of the Icon, I do want to hear about it. If there are topics or events you’d like to see covered here, I’d like to hear about that, too. You can send media releases and messages to [email protected] and [email protected]. And yes, you can call the Icons at 567-400-ICON (4266). Please leave a message if I don’t pick up. Although I fairly often hear “I didn’t think I’d actually speak to someone!”

You can’t, however, drop by the Icon; you can write to P.O. Box 31, Bluffton, OH 45817. This is a home-based business and the staff is me, the editor-owner. I am assisted by sports writer Cort Reynolds and by two student editorial assistants, Duncan Scott and Sabina Clingerman. Columnists including Amelia Alexander, Bill Herr, and Robert McCool volunteer their services, as do Bluffton council reporter Andy Chappell-Dick and Pandora sports writer Matt Amstutz.

I also want to thank the people who make all of this possible: the advertisers in the Bluffton Icon and the Ada Icon–among whom there is plenty of overlap. These business owners and managers fuel the engine that provides free local news to Ada, Bluffton and nearby communities.

And to you, dear viewers, thanks so much for reading the Icons.