By Eva Potter
Five years ago, Rebecca “Becca” and Kevin Whited could never have predicted they would be the new owners of Special-E-Fects, but now they’re thrilled to be opening a whole new chapter in their lives.
Mrs. Whited was born in Ellicottville and graduated from Ellicottville Central School. After marrying Kevin Whited, the couple bought and renovated the house she grew up in. “I never thought in a million years that I would ever be able to own this paper,” she said.
Mrs. Whited’s true interest and love of the newspaper industry began in 1999 when she held a student internship through BOCES in graphics, printing and photography. Excited and inspired by her experience, she decided to make it her mission to work at Special-E-Fects. Mrs. Whited applied numerous times until an opening became available in 2007. She asked Lynn Dubey, business manager and editor, if she could bring her then-six-month-old son, Seth, to work with her and Lynn graciously agreed.
“When I first started working here, I saw a paper that was amazing in its own right. It has stood the test of time and still has a great readership and people that are willing to contribute. I love the community that is behind the paper and the timeless collages, but mostly I love being able to do so many different things including the accounting, advertising design, assembling the collage, writing articles—you name it,” said Mrs. Whited. Over the years, she has heard many amusing stories which keep things fresh and interesting.
“I have done almost everything including factory work, office work and non-profit work. I even worked at Wal-Mart. But this was the first job that I could throw myself into and make a difference. I’ve never gotten bored, which is amazing to even my husband, because boredom is my enemy,” she said.
Mr. Whited was a very willing participant in the paper’s purchase and said, “I am excited about it. It will give us the opportunity to be a bigger part of a great community. I have lived, breathed, and worked in Ellicottville for almost 10 years, and I have always thought it is a great little community and certainly a great place to live.”
“I am originally from Columbus, Ohio. I met local entrepreneur Bill Northrup through his aerospace venture (Century Aerospace) when I started working for his team as a CAD designer in 1995,” said Mr. Whited. He continued to work for Mr. Northrup and eventually landed back in Ellicottville to work for local company, Meritool. He is now the operations manager for Toolsource.com, which is affiliated with Meritool. Additionally, three years ago, Mr. Whited began his own computer consulting company, EvlTech, to assist local people and businesses with their computer challenges.
As vice president of the newspaper, Mr. Whited will have a very limited role in the day-to-day operations but will provide input on major decisions. He will advise on the technical aspects of the business and manage the computer systems. He also helped set up the paper’s new website at www.ellicottvillenews.com. He said, “This is really Becca’s passion. She is the social one. It definitely isn’t in my personality to be out there in the front of people like she is.”
Mrs. Whited saw it from another viewpoint: “I always thought of myself as an outcast; kind of a loner. I just never fit in anywhere, but then I met Kevin who, thank God, saw something more in me than I did. He made it OK to dream.”
“After working at Special E Fects and seeing that it was being maintained but not revived, I felt there was more that our team could do,” said Mrs. Whited. Ms. Dubey suggested to her one day, almost jokingly, that she buy the paper. Mrs. Whited responded that she just might, and that started the ball rolling. She said, “It took almost 2-1/2 years to bring the sale to fruition. It just kind of happened in a serendipitous way.”
With ownership comes change, and with change comes controversy, but the couple do not intend to turn this into the end of an era and are committed to the community, the people and the businesses of Ellicottville.
Mr. Whited commented, “My hope is that through the paper, we can help bring out the good in the community and bring the area businesses together in a positive way for everyone’s greater success in the future.” Mrs. Whited concurred and said, “I just want to mention how great our team is and how I couldn’t do it without them—from the writers, salesperson, editor, advertisers and graphic designer. Honestly, if I didn’t have the team I do, I may not have pursued ownership.”
After the sale, one of the first things the couple did was to set up the new website. Mr. Whited explains the reasoning behind this move: “The decision to change the domain name of the business was for simplicity and the sanity of our employees. For as long as Special-E-Fects has been around, I have been constantly surprised by how few people actually recognize it by that name anymore. Especially outside of the village, people seem to recognize it as the ‘Ellicottville Paper.’We think Special-E-Fects is part of the history of Ellicottville and we are not in a hurry to change that. We just want to make it easier to do business and get the information out in front of the people, and ellicottvillenews.com is much easier to remember and communicate over the phone.”
One of Mrs. Whited’s primary goals is to make local people become a part of the paper, especially through feedback. Comments are always welcomed and encouraged, and the new website provides lots of opportunity.
She also wants to “bridge the gap between the businesses here in town and the people who live here seasonally and full time. Growing up, my family didn’t really take part in the festivities of Ellicottville. I had no idea where I lived was so fascinating. I hope to grow the paper and get the community to give us feedback and really bring to light the ‘community’ that hides here.”
Mrs. Whited said, “I think there is still a need for a paper that looks out for the people that live here and/or visit, even though sometimes it is a very thin line and what is good for one isn’t always good for the other. For the businesses, I hope to be able to get people to visit their establishments and to bring more unity among them.”
“There is so much more than meets the eye! It isn’t just a festival resort town, there is a heart and soul here that is unmatched by any that surrounds it,” she said.
Mrs. Whited describes herself as “that kind of off-kilter dreamer” who believes the R. Kelly song I Believe I Can Fly, especially the verse that goes: ‘If I can see it, then I can do it/If I just believe it, there’s nothing to it’”—and it sounds like this could be her new motto. Not only that, but the Whiteds are expecting their third child in July. Talk about having dreams come true!
