You may wonder what brought Diane Woodstock from the Chicago Sun-Times all the way to a neighborhood-based organization like the Lincoln Square Chamber of Commerce. The answer? Relationships. As an activist in her hometown of Madison, Wisconsin, Diane learned the importance of building relationships and of making a positive impact by rolling up her sleeves and pitching in to help. After holding a variety of positions in businesses ranging from credit unions to magazine publishing, Diane learned first and foremost that she's a people person. That's one of the many reasons why she's in her element as an ad sales representative specializing in retail accounts at the Sun-Times. "I love talking to my customers and interacting with the small businesses in the neighborhood," explains Diane.
Although she worked in a variety of fields, none of them really struck Diane as a great fit until she got her first job in media. "There was just more adrenaline involved with media," says Diane. She worked in ad sales for an alternative newspaper in Madison, where she cracked the paper's first food account. Diane found that she loved the sales process. "I had to learn about my customers' businesses, what challenges they faced and what they needed," recalls Diane. "I view my job as a partnership. I approach people and ask them, 'What can I do for you that someone else can't or won't do?'"
In 1978 after her son and daughter were grown, Diane made the decision to relocate from Madison to New York City. "I said to my kids, 'I'm the one who's going to run away from home,'" laughs Diane. She went to work as an ad rep for the Village Voice, the 45 year old alternative weekly that had worked its way into New York's mainstream. It was a great job for her to start in New York, as Diane learned the city inside and out there. "The Voice taught me New York," says Diane. "People would quiz me on the basics like how many boroughs there were and other facts I needed to know about the city."
From the Village Voice, Diane moved on to a job at the New York Post and then finally to New York magazine, which was owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation at the time. She was so successful there that she was promoted to a management position at the News Corporation headquarters in Secaucus, New Jersey. "I helped put together eight new magazine titles for their launch," explains Diane. "Murdoch had 58 titles at that time." During her time there, Diane was so dedicated to her job that she never missed publication of a single magazine issue. But the long hours, the stress of tight deadlines and the commute to New Jersey started to take its toll. "I got tired of the rat race," says Diane. A vacation to visit her sister and mother in Chicago gave Diane the idea of what to do next. She instantly fell in love with the city and realized that it was time to settle down here. "How can you resist Chicago?" laughs Diane. "I was hooked. Chicago is like New York without the hassles."
 On 8/8/88—the same day that the lights were due to go on for the first night game at Wrigley Field—Diane Woodstock started a job in ad sales at the Chicago Sun-Times. Lucille Fredericks was Diane's first boss, a veteran who gave her good advice and with whom she became close friends before Lucille retired. Diane sold ads in a variety of areas, including travel, financial and DuPage County real estate. In 2000, she was promoted to a position in the retail department. "I thought I'd died and gone to heaven," says Diane. "I really like working with small businesses the best. I don't make as much money as I did in other positions. But money doesn't make me—I make money."
After taking on her new position, Diane joined the Lincoln Square Chamber of Commerce to become more involved with the issues that matter to business owners in the neighborhood. She immediately began to get involved in a variety of committees and initiatives. "I had just moved to the retail department and everything was fresh and new," recalls Diane. "When I went to my first Chamber meeting, I was motivated and inspired by the other people in the room," she says. "I knew I was in the right place." Diane is now an LSCC board member and the membership chair. As an avid volunteer and advocate for the neighborhood, she helps get press coverage of the area and its businesses to increase interest and sales.
Diane maintains a close relationship with her current supervisor, Bill, who often suggests ideas for ways to help the Lincoln Square neighborhood and its business community. He is also supportive of her involvement with local organizations like the LSCC. But regardless of internal opinions Diane stands firm on staying involved—when asked to leave another organization, she refused on the grounds that it was the wrong thing to abandon the group and that it would reflect poorly on the Sun-Times. Her intense conviction convinced her supervisors that she was, in fact, doing the right thing. So she stayed.
The dedication that Diane gives to her work with organizations like the LSCC is something that has been part of her life since a very young age. At 15, she was elected to the East Side Mayor's Council in her hometown of Madison, Wisconsin. When her high school cut its popular dances on the weekends and after football games, Diane organized a group of friends who held their own dances at a local community center, the East Side Businessman's Association. She and her friends planned everything, from the bands to hire, to renting and decorating the hall where the dances were held. "They were good to us kids at the East Side Businessman's Association," recalls Diane. "Of course, we did have the dances at other halls, too. We were very successful at planning these things."
Later on, Diane joined the board of the Madison Development Corporation, a group of businesses, government officials and realtors who worked to get grants in the 1960s and 1970s to develop run-down areas of the city. "The mayor needed a staff to develop the program," explains Diane. "He knew me from the neighborhood, so he started a petition for me to become a board member of the Corporation. We worked closely with the city's planning department and with the local businesses that needed assistance." One of the projects completed while Diane was involved was taking over a dilapidated block and turning it into the first co-op housing in Madison.
 Her activism didn't stop when she moved to New York. Diane became involved with the New York Commission for Occupational Safety and Health, a group that ran seminars and bag lunches about creating and maintaining a safe work environment. During her involvement, Diane helped the organization get state grants and build a budget of $500,000. The experience also taught Diane an important lesson. "You'd be surprised what you can get if you ask for it," she says. As a resident of the 47th Ward, Diane contributes her time to a number of local neighborhood groups, including in her own neighborhood. She currently lives with her daughter, Valya, in Roscoe Village. "The most satisfying thing to me is to work with the Chamber and other community groups," says Diane. "The more people who are involved and do things, the more it helps the city as a whole."
Working at the Sun-Times for more than 10 years has provided Diane with her share of interesting experiences. She has stood by reporters' desks to give them news tips and has interacted with famous columnists, such as Roger Ebert and the late Irv Kupcinet. "Irv Kupcinet was one of my favorite people at the Sun-Times," recalls Diane. "He was a grand man. He would be sociable with the janitors in the building. He was kind to everyone." Diane is witnessing the changes at the paper as its well known Wabash headquarters, built in 1957 to house both offices and the printing press, is now being demolished to make way for Donald Trump's latest high rise development. "I used to go down and see the printing presses run," recalls Diane. "They were noisy and smelly! But they would let anyone come and watch the presses, as long as they didn't have cameras so they could catch the next day's headlines." Diane says that visitors can still view the presses running at the new Chicago Sun-Times printing plant at Ashland and 55th Street.
The Sun-Times currently has about 500 employees: about 200 reporters, 100 people in operations and about 200 people in sales. "Of that group, about 30 handle the mom and pop retail accounts in the city and suburbs," explains Diane. Interestingly, there's been an evolution to the next generation as Diane's daughter Valya now works in ad sales at the Sun-Times, too. "They told her that if she is halfway as good as her mother, she could come work for them," laughs Diane. "One of my long-time customers recently called me and said, 'You know you're getting old when you start talking to the second generation in the business.'"
If you are thinking about advertising and you are considering the Chicago Sun-Times, contact Diane Woodstock at 312.321.2718. She handles all retail accounts, which include small and large businesses and restaurants located in the area from Diversey north to Touhy, from Damen west to Pulaski. "Just give me a call if you need help," says Diane. "If I can't help you myself, I'll get you to the right person."
Diane Woodstock of the Chicago Sun-Times
350 North Orleans
Chicago, IL 60654
312.321.2718
www.suntimes.com |
