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Opinion: Farewell SBJ, life's not all about business

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Editor’s note: This column marks the final Opinion piece by Springfield Business Journal’s longest-running current columnist. Ellen Rohr has written a regular column tailored to the self-employed and small-business owners since 1998. She and her family are returning to Salt Lake City.

In 1995, my husband, “Hotrod,” and I sold our plumbing, heating and solar company in Park City, Utah. We bought a farm in Rogersville and moved to the Ozarks. We fell in love with the area on a business trip, when we connected with good friends and took a Buffalo River float trip. Classic midlife change of course.

My folks were looking to retire and downsize, and we sold them on moving out to the Ozarks, to live with us. My mom flew out from Salt Lake City to survey their options. I saw her eyes fill with tears as Hotrod laid out remodeling ideas using bright orange spray paint on the dirt floor of an old barn.

“This could be the bedroom, and over here the kitchen,” he encouraged enthusiastically.

In spite of a rough first impression, they moved out, and stayed in our house while Hotrod worked on the build-out. It’s pretty motivating to get your folks’ house done when they are living with you. Putting the second home on the driveway officially turned it into a lane. When you do that in Greene County, you get to name it. Considering his bossy wife, and even more opinionated in-laws, Hotrod chose the name Know It All Lane.

It was then our life started to take shape in Rogersville. My sister and brother and their families moved to the area. My parents’ place became the family and social hub. At Christmas, my sister from Salt Lake, and other friends and family, would descend on Know It All Lane. We hosted major family reunions in the summertime and used every bit of our acreage for croquet and four-wheeling and scavenger hunts and makeshift golf. Our son Max settled in at school and in sports. He connected with funny, loveable, interesting kids, who have become lifelong friends.

Our neighbors out in Rogersville are lovely. Thank you, Maryann, for organizing our yearly progressive dinner and causing the sometimes hermit-like Rohrs to mingle. Hotrod made so many friends because of shared interests – mostly mechanical. Funnily, my social life evolved around Springfield media. I made friends with Springfield Business Journal’s founding publisher, Dianne Elizabeth Osis, and her daughter, current publisher Jennifer Jackson. I was in the meeting when Dianne and the team settled in on the mission statement Pride In Publishing, which had flown on the masthead for years. Goosebumps. I’ve had the privilege of working with Eric Olson as editor and the fine SBJ editorial crew for many, many years. They have taught me a thing or two about journalistic integrity: “Ellen, do you have a real source for this statistic?” I’ve also made amazing friends at KOLR 10. What a joy and honor to write about and share what I’ve learned in life and business. Hopefully, I’ve been of service to you, my Springfield community.

What do I love about life in the Ozarks? So many things. Certainly, the weather. The multicolor trees cast lacy silhouettes at sunrise and sunset throughout the year. Storms that wheel across the Plains and swirl up during tornado season. Breezy days bearing the tail of a Gulf of Mexico hurricane. The unique sweetness of a spring day and the just-crispy rattle of early fall leaves. And the lazy hot and humid summer days that stick around just long enough to ripen the tomatoes. I’ve planted a garden almost every year and got humbled by weeds and bugs. Still, one sun-warmed Roma eaten fresh off the vine makes it all worthwhile.

All this to say, the time has come to downsize and move on. Our family is moving and changing, and we are following our son and his family back to Salt Lake City. I am going to miss life here. It’s been wonderful. Mostly, we are going to miss you, dear ones. See you in Utah?

Ellen Rohr is an author and business consultant offering profit-building tips, trending business blogs and online workshops at EllenRohr.com. Her books include “Where Did the Money Go?” and “The Bare Bones Weekend Biz Plan.” She can be reached at ellen@ellenrohr.com.

Comments

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jgarton@bgclubspringfield.org

Ellen is a lively, engaged member of this community and will be dearly missed and never forgotten! I am grateful for the great stories, advice, and laughter that she has provided throughout the years. Some of you may not know that she was also a great volunteer and supporter of Rogersville schools, where we met through PTA.

As Cathy Goff, retired Rogersville teacher, would say, "GO FAR!"

Thursday, October 1, 2020
user9245

Thank you for your positive Ozarks comments. You and your column will be missed. Safe travel, God speed.

John

Thursday, October 1, 2020
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