About Us
Entrepreneurial Vision Award:
Jeff Asbach and Scott Asbach – Hometown Focus.us, Virginia, MN
http://www.umdced.com/labo/2009_Labo.pdf
"There's no place like home"
JEFF ASBACH: CEO & Co-Founder
Our fearless leader brings 30+ years of newspaper industry experience to Hometown Focus. Jeff is the former General Manager of Mesabi Daily News, where his expertise was in production and new technologies. He is the guy behind the scenes that makes everything work. A stickler for details, Jeff keeps everyone here on track. jeffa@hometownfocus.us
SCOTT ASBACH: CFO & Co-Founder
Scott is the former Publisher of Mesabi Daily News, where he filled the shoes of his father, L. R. Asbach, before him. He also brings 30+ years of newspaper experience to our venture. Scott came up through advertising and marketing, and has more ideas rolling around in his noggin than just about anyone. If anyone says, "We can't do that" in a staff meeting, Scott gets very, very...determined. We'd worship the ground he walks on too, except, he doesn't walk, he runs.
scotta@hometownfocus.us
JEAN COLE: Executive Editor/Content Wrangler
Uncomfortable with her fancy title, Jean would call herself an information junkie. Recruited from the realm of higher education, Jean was eager to return to the world of journalism, where she had once resided as an assistant editor, staff writer, columnist, and photographer for a number of weekly and daily publications.
She's happy now because reading too much and always asking a bunch of questions are actually part of her job description. Editing, writing and content wrangling are Jean's main responsibilities at Hometown Focus.
Jean is a graduate of Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio. There, she triple-majored in English, Creative Writing and Earth Sciences because she liked to read and collect rocks, both very profitable careers.
Jean's claim to fame is being a three-time winner of KAXE's "May We Have A Word With You" Friday morning spelling contest.
jeanc@hometownfocus.us
JASON SCORICH: Staff Writer/Historian
With a master's degree in English from Stanford University, Jason has suffered from an acute case of overeducation. He emitted polysyllabic words and quoted obscure literary works in his sleep. Things looked bleak. But after two years of playing music, howling at the moon and general rootlessness, Jason has valiantly decided to reenter the general population.
Ironically, this sense of rootlessness inspired in Jason a passion for local history. His brain teems with visions of the area's cultural, artistic, human and architectural past. You may find him scouring the depths of an abandoned mine pit, digging through stacks of archival material, or traversing the passageways of an old building. He is the compiler/designer of our wildly popular “Range History” section. They are the only sacred, ad-free pages in our publication. jscorich@gmail.com
ZACH ASBACH: Graphic Design
Zach is a graduate of the graphic design program at Mesabi Range College. Green as the first sprigs of grass in spring, Zach came on board and quickly became indispensable in our graphics department. He took to newspaper design like a duck to water. Must run in the family.
Because he’s low on the family totem pole, Zach receives no mercy from the top echelon. The rest of us treat him with the respect his skills deserve. We think he likes it here.
zacha@hometownfocus.us
MICKEY MANKUS: Graphic Design
Mickey is also a graduate of the graphic design program at Mesabi Range College (they train them well, there).
While Mickey started out in our sales department, the departure of our senior designer left an opening Mickey jumped right into during the busiest time of year: Trial by fire! She's up to the task, and Mickey says she keeps trying to learn every day even though she sometimes stumbles over her own feet.
Her hobbies include photography (lucky for us!), nature and the outdoors, hunting and quilting, and a few other girlie things. This we know: Mickey can shoot and gut a deer by herself, and bring homemade brownies to work the next day. Multi-tasking is good.
RICHARD D. LATHROP (RDL): Creative Sales & Service
RDL has over 20 years of sales experience with major corporations like Sun Oil Co. and American Express, and for many years was a partner in a regional news media firm. RDL is loving taking all his previous experience in the marketplace and applying it to Hometown Focus. He likes the ambiance of our team of creatives.
He says it’s the product itself, with its positive news and great community content, that allows him to enjoy his work here so much.
rdl@hometownfocus.us
TYLOR ASBACH: Creative Sales & Service
Tylor, along with Zach, represents the third-generation of Asbachs who tout “ink in their blood”. Tylor is an outgoing sort who loves calling on new business clients and developing relationships. “It’s all about what you develop before any sale takes place,” he says. He’s inherited his dad’s propensity for having way too many ideas in a day.
An entrepreneurial sort, Tylor started and operated his own small business for a few years on Lake Vermilion, Vermilion Odd Jobs, which provided an assortment of services to cabin owners. It was kind of a normal progression for the youngster who was responsible for lawn-mowing as a kid.
tylora@hometownfocus.us
VICKY JUNTUNEN: Business Manager
Vicky is our business manager. This doesn't even come close to encompassing the breadth of her responsibilities, which are too many to list, but sometimes includes balancing the personal checkbook of our Chief Financial Officer. So, basically, we think that means that Vicky is the real CFO around here, we're not sure.
With almost as many years in the newspaper business as Scott and Jeff, Vicky is invaluable to the smooth operation of Hometown Focus. She is sometimes alternatively referred to as The Classified Queen, or Queen Victoria.
Vicky recently revealed to us during lunch in the break room that she is a former Cherry High School cheerleader. This ignited a spirited conversation among the staff that we are sorry cannot be repeated in this brief bio. vickyj@hometownfocus.us
IMAGINATION.....EDUCATION.....COMMUNICATION
Connect the dots.....Hometown Multi Media Partners, LLC, spanning 3 generations.
IMAGINATION.....It never fails to make you think, and it always makes you listen.
EDUCATION.....You want to build a relationship? It starts by telling the truth. That's when the real fun starts. Creativey is our passion, but we do have another love--independence. With zero absentee owners or outside investors, we're free to focus soley on our work.
COMMUNICATION.....Which is good, because there's a lot of work to focus on: advertising, interactive, relationship marketing; retail, brand, business-to-business, and leave an impressive footprint your customers will remember.
MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS
We will help you to integrate your marketing plans with effective communication techniques so that your price, place, promotions, and products are properly balanced to attract customers. Let us help you maximize and be consistent with your messege.
CONSULTING AND COACHING
Our reasearch uses several different methedologies to advise and implement best practices to help businesses improve their performance in strategy, organizational, technology and operations.
MEDIA RELATIONS AND BROADCAST
We will help you build meaningful relationships with key media outlets to enhance the publicity of your organization. This technique is unlike creating your own messege with paid advertisement because our tools and expertise will help you develop a strategic mass media connection.
BRANDING AND CORPORATE IDENTITY
We will effectively improve your business brand, increase corporate identity and design a logo that will leave an impressive footprint your customers will remember.
