Articles

My name is Alex Cornwell, the present co-owner and publisher of The Waynedale News. I have been driven to make a positive impact on the world that surrounds me in every aspect of my life.

Proceeding graduation from The University of Saint Francis, a fellow Saint Francis classmate and myself, Michael Alberico took a leap of faith and become the co-owners of The Waynedale News. Starting as an employee six years ago, I undertook the struggles of the newspaper and reshaped the foundation through the extraordinary vision I had to improve the area by utilizing the resources the paper provides to enhance the well-being of the residential and business life of Waynedale. Our positive, non-bias news and entertainment exemplifies our mission to assist the community. We currently sponsor over ten local events and activities, aid $3,000 in community grants, and organize many free educational seminars each year.

My professional career as a website / graphic designer and business owner began while in attendance at the University of Saint Francis. I organized a sole proprietorship for my freelance design work in which I managed the design, public relations, marketing and advertising for various small to large sized businesses within the Fort Wayne area. From the organizations I worked with, three companies have a presence internationally known, for one of which, Tiberius Arms, I held a lead position for all of their marketing and design needs for over 3 years. Today, I continue to implement successful changes with my proprietorship, maintaining the current marketing trends for these companies as well as accepting new partnerships.

Holding high standards for all newspaper employees, The Waynedale News has overwhelmingly proven to be successful and one of my greatest personal accomplishments of my young age. I am very proud of my in-house team, writing, editorial, sales and delivery staff; all of which working together has helped the newspaper grow (over 20%) to 35,000 newsprint readers every two weeks and to 40,000 monthly visitors on the news website (created in 2010).

Aspiring to serve my community and dedicated to impact the development of Fort Wayne, I engaged myself in numerous noteworthy causes. I served a 3-year term on the Brenda Hanchar Foundation Board of Directors, a non-profit which acquires and distributes durable medical equipment for those in Allen County without means to afford the desperately needed equipment. I also served a 1-year term on the Three Rivers Festival "Art In The Park" committee, organizing the vendor based art event at Freimann Square in downtown Fort Wayne. In efforts to connect with the community my business serves, I currently volunteer my time and resources as a founding member of the Waynedale Community Improvement Team. Most remarkably, we have initiated the significant changes to improve the area's residential and business life by positively enhancing the developments of the region and providing free events.

A further commitment to enhance the Waynedale community has lead to my creation of Waynedale.com, which is an online resource for residents, businesses and visitors to learn, share ideas and subscribe to an e-newsletter regarding the area, maintained by volunteers. Waynedale.com sells a Waynedale-branded apparel line to support its efforts, and has sold over 2,000 items thus far. In November 2011, Waynedale.com released the 2012 Waynedale.com Visitor's Guide. This is an annual magazine that encompasses Waynedale resources, activities, history and a listing of businesses in the area. Both, the apparel and the guide are designed to create awareness and discussion topics regarding the community, among a number of other goals that are designed to enhance the community.

I strive to achieve my personal best with the development of my professional career while making a positive impact on my community.