Life After ‘The Syracuse New Times’

Q. You’re 72 and just sold your business — how’s retirement?
A. I don’t have any down time because I’m just as busier than ever. For me, it’s just part of a natural evolution. I’ve owned and operated 11 companies, and have bought and sold companies, and each time I sold a company, I went on to other things.

I’ve been at the Syracuse New Times for 26 years. It was time for another change, not retirement, but just another change. My wife Shirley and I both remain active with the company as consultants.

Q. What are you doing with your free time?
A. Because I do have other business ventures, I don’t really have substantially more free time than I had before. I’m devoting more time to the Zimmer Motor Car Co., whereas before it was just a very limited, part-time thing because I was quite busy with the New Times. Of course, I’m spending time consulting with the new owner, but that will wind down over a period of time.

I also am a counselor for SCORE. We do counseling for people starting a new business and for people who are in business but need some help. I’ve always done volunteer counseling but now I am doing more of it.

Q. Do you plan to become a “snow bird?”
A. No. I love Central New York and am staying in Central New York. Of course, I’ve been an avid skier all my life, and many times have left to go somewhere else like Vermont or Colorado where there is more snow. My wife and I travel south during the winter for limited periods of time, but not long enough to be called a snowbird.

Q. Do you miss the excitement and energy of meeting a weekly deadline?
A. Being the owner and publisher of the New Times was a very fun and prestigious job. The New Times was the most popular of all newspapers in Central New York, and the publisher of the most popular newspaper was a very prestigious position in the community. So I’ll have to admit there’s a little bit of that which I miss. It’s not that I had grown tired of it. I’ve been in the spotlight for 26 years.

Q. What aspect of the business do you miss the most?
A. I think the day-to-day interaction with the staff. Because the New Times is such a unique and special type of business, we attracted a very unique and special type of employee. It was quite an exciting and fun day-to-day activity working with these people. Generally speaking, they were in their own ways very superior-type people, so working on a day-to-day basis with them was fun and exciting. I guess I do miss that.

Q. Are you still active from a managerial standpoint?
A. No. I’m totally out of it as far as management is concerned. Basically, what I do is meet quite regularly with the new owner and we just sit down and talk for several hours about every thing that is going on and the decisions he is making. He wants to know my input and what I would do if I were there based on my 26 years’ experience.

Q. How is the Zimmer Car Co. faring?
A. Slow, like all car companies. But actually I have seen in the last couple of months an up-tick in the interest and inquiries that I’ve been getting. I’ve got two or three deals cooking that look like they will probably be sales. When you do a Zimmer sale, we’re talking $150,000. It’s not like selling a $20,000 Chevy.

Q. What is your favorite car you own?
A. My favorite day-to-day drive is a Chrysler mini-van. It sounds pretty bad when you produce $150,000 luxury cars. But in the past when I was with the New Times, it was such a practical vehicle. You can use it as a truck or bus.

Q. You have been a huge influence on Syracuse theatre. Are you still active in producing plays? What is your favorite aspect of being involved in theatre?
A. I was producing the annual “Cruizin’ Thru the ‘50s and ‘60s,” and our final production this year was in June.
The “Cruizin’ Thru the ‘50s and ‘60s” franchise went with the New Times. It was owned by the New Times, so I turned it over to the new owner. Next spring when it’s time for the next “Cruizin’ Thru the ‘50s and ‘60s,” I won’t be producing but still will be consulting on it.