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Thursday, November 1, 2001

Horror Hits Home Bioterrorism What Happened The business type Relief Efforts Local Reaction Columbus native, former Knight Ridder CEO to be honored in Florida Official Reaction

Nat'l/World Reaction BY TONY ADAMS Retaliation Staff Writer The Effect -- It's not every day that a business executive has a school named in his honor. Then TODAY again, few executives have shown a commitment to a university and a community Home Page like Alvah H. Chapman Jr. Local News That's the view of Joyce Elam, dean of Florida International University's College Business of Business Administration. Business Quarterly Sports "Alvah is just an incredible role model for the students," Elam said of the Columbus native and the retired chairman and chief executive officer of Knight Editorial Ridder Inc. The company is the second-largest newspaper publisher in the nation Obituaries with 32 dailies, including the Ledger-Enquirer. Entertainment "Alvah certainly knows how to run a profitable business," Elam said. "But it's also WEEKLY his management philosophy of providing a good work environment for the Faith & Spirit employees and, I think, his real belief that it is the responsibility of business Family leaders to help build their communities." The Web Page Of course, Elam could be a bit biased, considering Chapman has been Food instrumental in helping the Miami-area school grow from 5,000 students when it Health was founded in 1972 to more than 30,000 today. That assistance has been Home & Garden intellectual, but it also has been in the form of millions of dollars. Sunday Living The current challenge for Chapman, 80, is to secure private funding for a $30 To Do million graduate school of business facility at Florida International. Florida Gov. Special Sections Jeb Bush is expected to attend a $500-a-seat dinner tonight in Miami at which Florida International will formally name the business school after Chapman. NATIONAL The executive's post-Knight Ridder resume includes working to help homeless file:///D|/cba/ColumbusLE-Chapman.htm (1 of 3) [1/8/2002 9:03:16 AM] The business type | Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

News people, chairing a national anti-drug coalition and working to rebuild a South Florida region devastated by Hurricane Andrew. Business Sports His roots are in Columbus, however, where the U.S. Army Air Corps veteran of Family & Life World War II began his newspaper career at the Ledger-Enquirer. He earned the AP News Wire position of business manager in 1948, then left the city for stints at newspapers in St. Petersburg, Fla., and Savannah, Ga. The ink-stained path would eventually FIND IT take him to the Miami Herald, where he would rise to the top of the Knight Ridder Classifieds chain in 1976, retiring for good in 1989. NewsLibrary In a telephone interview this week, Chapman discussed business and life in Cars general: Apartments Yellow Pages What are your memories of the Ledger-Enquirer? Get a Map We did a lot of exciting things there. We started printing some color in the Get Directions newspaper for the first time. I was the first chairman of the United Giver's Shopping campaign that went over the top of its goal in 1951. That's the precursor to United Travel Way. It was less than a million dollars, but it was a big goal for us.

SERVICES I spent a lot of time learning the newspaper business. I was business manager Weather when we incurred a strike. I had to get the paper out with the help of a bunch of TV Listings people we recruited on pretty short notice to come in and learn how to be printers and typesetters. I was in the plant for 12 straight days without going home. Movie Listings Forum/Chat How do we get more people to pick up a newspaper? Commercial Printing You have a wonderful opportunity with everything that's going on in the world HELP DESK today. You certainly can't live your life without reading a newspaper. Even though Contact Info you spend a lot of time watching TV, you've got to read the newspaper to find the FAQ details of what you've seen on TV. Paper Subscription What are the keys to success in business? Advertise Online Jobs at L-E The speech I'm going to make at the dinner talks about the importance of dealing with the four constituencies that support any business. A lot of managers are concerned about the bottom-line profit, and that's important, but the other three constituencies that are very important are the customers - you've got to serve them with fairness and a good product - and you've got to serve the employees and serve the community.

How does a business survive economic slumps like those we are now experiencing?

file:///D|/cba/ColumbusLE-Chapman.htm (2 of 3) [1/8/2002 9:03:16 AM] The business type | Columbus Ledger-Enquirer New revenue initiatives are the most important thing you do. You've got to control your costs, but you can't cost control yourself into making a profit. You've got to get some new revenue in there.

You fought in World War II. How do you relate that experience to today's tragic terrorist attacks?

When I dropped bombs on Berlin I prayed that I'd never have to see the time when anybody dropped bombs on the United States of America. But that dream went out the window on Sept. 11.

What are lessons you've learned in life?

Live every day to the fullest. I've done the most important work of my life after I retired from Knight Ridder. In 1989, the year I retired, I got involved in a program to help the homeless in Miami, and it's turned out to be a national model. We've helped 14,400 people leave the streets of our city for something better. So when you have that extra time, use it to help other people.

Contact Tony Adams

at (706) 571-8574 or

[email protected]

"You certainly can't live your life without reading a newspaper. Even though you spend a lot of time watching TV, you've got to read the newspaper to find the details of what you've seen on TV."

Alvah Chapman, Columbus native and retired CEO of Knight Ridder Newspapers

file:///D|/cba/ColumbusLE-Chapman.htm (3 of 3) [1/8/2002 9:03:16 AM]