Press Journal from Vero Beach, Florida • 43

I rpPlNION i4D5D IggTWS WEEK BACK IN TIME 7D v5Sy ii Sournal Section Sunday October 5 1997 The Bottom Line by Chris Kauffmann (Suwnel 10 storting to caroe oat nicAe uv conununito their mix of local talk shows sports and news as well as home shopping shows infomercials old movies educational programming and conservative syndicated political talk shows The best example of this was when the station canceled two shows it received from NET-Political NewsTalk Network a few months ago The Guerras said they were deluged with calls from local viewers protesting the decision They also have a letter from the NET that said during the month of September 1996 WWCI generated the third highest amount of calls out of the 136 area codes the NET receives calls from "When we originally put the NET on we thought it might be too conservative for Vero Beach but this shows it Guerra said Although things are beginning to pick up the station did have its share of start-up problems The usual technical glitches aside the biggest headache was the fight to get on cable WWCI was slated to go on TCI Channel 7 in July 1996 but Melbourne station WIRB Channel 56 which was in that slot protested to the Federal Communications Commission What ensued was a months-long battle over must-carry rights Because of the market WWCI falls in it must be carried by TCI something WIRB could not claim because it falls into a different market Still the case dragged out several months before TCI could jiggle things around to get WWCI on the air By CHI Press Journal SUIT Writer About three years ago Jose and Maria Guerra had one of those decisions to make they knew would alter the direction of their lives After almost 20 years on the Miami advertising scene they were becoming tired of the business and wanted to branch out into something substantially different they wanted to start their own television station That opportunity came from New Orleans businessman Edward Bowlds who as luck would have it happened to own two television station licenses for Naples and Vero Beach The question then became one of which to buy but for the Guerras it turned out to be an easy one to answer: Vero Beach is picture perfect "The very first day we came to town we went to a restaurant we talked to the people and I told Jose this is America 30 years Mrs Guerra said "We love the town so we moved While that might be a familiar refrain heard from newcomers to the community the Guerras were not coming here three years ago to retire or to work in a run-of-the-mill business but to make a living in an Industry that had no precedent in Vero Beach Simply boasting about the charming quality of life did not pay the bills The challenge was considerable "Starting a local station in a small market you have to find the people who can do it and there was no local TV here this was a newspaper market and a radio Guerra said "You also have to go out and show what the advantages of TV are to potential advertisers and they had never worked with TV before You have to prove that you get Mrs Guerra added "And it takes time to get clients to realize they are getting Now about 18 months after they first launched WWCI Channel 10 off cable and a year since it first appeared on cable TCI Cablevlaion Channel 11 the Guerras said they are carving out a niche in the community and gaining acceptance The once-shy advertisers the lifeblood of the station presently number about 30 and they are increasing "slowly but "We do think Channel 10 Is a great vehicle to educate viewers about our said Jeanne Adam community relations specialist for Indian River Memorial Hospital The hospital sponsors the station's "Talk of the an eclectic local talk show hosted by Marcia Littlejohn They are also gaining viewers for Pfm JoutmI staff photo by Jamlo doctor camera is on news anchor Diana McDonald on the news set of WWCI Channel News in Vero Beach Phone Keeps R-R-Ringing We may be in for a barn-burner of a tourist season For the past two months the Indian River County Chamber of Commerce has been swamped with visitor inquiries for Information so much so that it has strained the human resources at the chamber to reply to them been nuts around said Penny Chandler the executive vice president been taking the whole staff plus our volunteers to get out the replies in a timely manner and we try to get them out the same A few figures to reflect on: There were 926 inquiries for information during August and 727 inquiries during the first three weeks of September Diming the same period there were a total of 117 inquiries about buying homes locally as well as another 126 inquiries about long-term rentals All the activity represents a 15 percent to 20 percent increase over last year looks like we're going to have a very strong visitor season and the long-term rentals are a real positive because they deposit money into the local Chandler said many of the people who are talking about purchases are looking to relocate from South Florida so we're not just talking about retirees but many people with Chandler chalked the numbers up to the continuing strong economy which leaves people with some extra money so they can start planning vacations early really good for everybody and certainly happy to get our she said There are no birthday blues for Disney's Vero Beach Resort The facility celebrated its second birthday Wednesday with a cake for its guests and with the knowledge that business the sec-mid year was better than the first Although the company doesn't give out numbers resort General Manager Sonya Deese said the facility has more than met expectations especially during the traditionally slower summer months doing Deese said seen a steady increase in repeat Although the resort plan on launching any new programs soon it recently began a Saturday breakfast with Goofy and Max son for the cartoon-impaired which has been successful The resort has also had even better success with its recent addition of a Sunday brunch no no cartoon characters at Sonya's restaurant received a lot of local support and already getting repeat marketing specialist Maureen Nicolacetaid All the good news though mean Disney has plans to get a proposed second phase of the project under way anytime soon That phase which would add another 90 rooms is in a holding pattern A little something from the useless-but-interesting file ie cocktail party fodder Indian River County ranks dead last among the 67 counties in terms of the percentage of personal income Its residents receive from salary and wages according to the University of Florida but it ranks second in terms of the percentage of income that is derived from dividends interest and rent It is only topped by Martin County in that category The information released this month and based on 1995 data shows local residents get 335 percent of their Income from salary and wages while garnering 47 A percent from dividends interest and rent The remaining 187 percent is derived from transfer payments which includes Social Security and welfare All this speaks to the size of the county's retirement community as well as its wealth compared to the size of the labor force said Dick Scoggins of the university's Bureau of Economic and Business Research Chris Kauffmann is the Press Journal business writer As Guerra noted at the time though the station was losing potential advertisers by not being on cable There were also challenges for the Guerras' employees They hired radio station WGYLWTTB broadcaster Bruce Douglas to be part of the local news team and had to train him from scratch but he proved to be a quick learner they said The problem for news anchor Diana McDonald was exactly the opposite The University of Florida graduate already had a year of experience anchoring and reporting for WUFT TV Channel 5 in Gainesville before coming to Vero Beach "The biggest thing for me was tak- The 10 reason The couple met in Miami Beach while attending the University of Miami he studying marketing and communications she studying foreign languages They have been married 24 years Guerra had originally wanted to produce movies but went into advertising In 1975 the couple struck out and formed their own video advertising agency and production company which produced commercials and medical programs among other things Please see NICHE2D ing for granted all the things that go into a McDonald said "Starting from step one not everything is handed to you It took a lot of time and energy on my part to get everything up and running It helped me grow in my reporting and it made me appreciate all the things that go into That things have been as relatively easy as they have been might be traced to the Guerras' background Born in Cuba Guerra 58 moved to Miami in 1961 to escape Castro's reign Mrs Guerra 56 had moved to Miami the year before for the same Wont Off Welfare? Learn To Make Cheesecake I V'tp lit -'I Business Writer HANNIBAL Mo Lynn Carr has a plan to help Impoverished women turn their lives around: Let them make cake Cheesecake that is Mrs Carr who was once homeless herself opened Twainland Cheesecake Co and Cafe three years ago and business is booming She and about a dozen female employees make 110 types of cheesecakes Chocolate Turtle Mississippi Mud and Nutty Monkey are among the favorites The desserts are fast becoming as much a tourist attraction in this northeast Missouri town as Mark boyhood home and the bronze Tom and Huck statue that sits next to the cafe at the foot of Cardiff Hill And as the visitors return home they're spreading the word about the small-town delicacies have people come in from all over the world who heard about us from their Mrs Carr said "They tell us it's the best cheesecake John Griffard not only agrees but he wants more people to have a chance to taste the treat Griffard owner of a popular restaurant in nearby Quincy III recently became a partner in Mrs Carr's business and plans to market the cakes to restaurants around the Midwest He is also seeking a distribution deal that would put the cheesecakes in stores paycheck will be just part of the package going to be a total Mrs Carr said going to have a learning center and a day-care center on site" With money from the stock offering Mrs Carr plans to have employees start out in the daycare center learning parenting and nutritional skills Part of their workday will be spent studying for high school equivalency diplomas which will be required before they can begin working full-time in the factory Tutors will be on hand to help them study Mrs Carr's empathy for those down on their luck is understandable She grew up in St Louis and dropped out of school before the ninth grade She spent most of her adult life cither on welfare or working low-wage jobs In 1984 she lost her minimum-wage job then her home With no money she sent her daughter to live with the girl's father Illiterate and without a job Mrs Carr and her young son James were on the streets "We slept in our car for about a week then they repossessed the she said through bittersweet laughter During the next several months Mrs Carr and James moved from one friend's home to another James recalled that once for his birthday he asked for a box of cereal Please see LEARM2D Griffard is being paid for his time in stock options and hopes to take the company public once it gets off the ground Meanwhile friends and volunteers will soon begin a $3000 expansion of the cafe allowing it to serve as a factory for mass-producing cheesecakes Mrs Carr and her workers now make 100 to 150 cakes a week By the middle of next year she hopes to have a workforce of 50 churning out 180 cheesecakes a day Mrs Carr 40 gives her employees much of the credit for her success Yet the women she hires are those that most employers shy away from high school dropouts welfare moms women often from the wrong side of the tracks Just a few months ago Kathy Allison fit that mold Ms Allison 33 was trying to raise three young children on welfare A case worker suggested Ms Allison and Mrs Carr hired her on the spot been a real blessing" Ms Allison said A small black and white television and VCR sit atop a refrigerator in the cramped cafe kitchen As the workers create their cheesecakes and lunch sandwiches motivational speakers on videotape blare words of encouragement stressing self-esteem the work ethic and religion Once the business expands Mrs Carr said that all of her new hires will come from unemployed and under-educated women And as she secs it the steady i i --r rr AP photo Lynn Carr holds slices of two of her famous cheesecakes chocolate turtle (left) and island breeze in her smal Hannibal Mo restaurant and cafe The cafe sits in the town's historic Mark Twain district I.