If you have extra money, you can donate it to people who don’t have anything. You can ask your family, your friends or teachers. Look in your house to find things that you are willing to give away. The holidays are the perfect time to start giving.
My wish is that all people will get what they need and that nobody will be hungry. I hope you teach your family and friends how to give. I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving. I’m thankful for my pets, my friends and my family. Start giving.
Bridget Engle
Springfield
Family continues to invest in city
Thank you, Elaine Morris-Roberts and the Springfield News-Sun, for the fine Sunday (Nov. 15) business news feature article about the impending move of my business, Kavanaugh’s Office City.
While I was pleased with the article’s content and the above-the-fold photo, friends, family and customers were confused by the headline over my picture.
They assumed I was the beneficiary of local funding directed my way to retain my company in Springfield/Clark County. For the record, I received no such assistance.
Almost seven years ago, I began a process to relocate my business. That process came to fruition on Sept. 1 with the sale of my building and the purchase of the 315 E. Columbia St. location. Every aspect of the deal, except the professional accounting and legal counsel I received, is the byproduct of my vision and driven by my persistence.
Warren Buffet and Berkshire Hathaway just bought railroad giant Burlington Northern for $34 billion and sage Buffet is quoted saying, “This is an investment in the future of the USA.” While my investment in Springfield is nowhere near the $34 billion mark, it is significant for me and is based on the belief, just like Buffet’s belief in the future of the USA, that Springfield’s best days lie ahead and my investment will pay dividends for my family, my staff, local vendors, and charities we support.
I hail from three generations who invested in Springfield — and made Springfield their home. My great-grandfather, Irish immigrant Edward Ryan, a road and rail contractor extraordinaire, had, at the time of his death in 1929, built more than 80 percent of the roads in Springfield.
My grandfather James Crites came to Springfield as an executive with the Edward Wren Store (where he started as an hourly window decorator) in its heyday, retiring as its president. My father, Robert E. Kavanaugh, founded and led Kavanaugh’s during a 30-year period from 1957 to 1987.
As the fourth-generation Springfielder, there was never any question of where Kavanaugh’s would invest. While I respect and support the organizations trying to retain local business, which are important to our community’s future, I want to set the record straight, Kavanaugh’s relocation was not enabled by a local program—just pure, good old-fashioned American ingenuity.
Robert Kavanaugh
Springfield