Deanna Does Good News

deanna-grimes-intro-photoComing from Cincinnati, Ohio, I never thought that I would embrace Northwest Indiana when I moved here nearly seven years ago. Honestly, I had no idea what to expect.

But that uncertainty all changed when I joined the Calumet Region Striders and became one of their runners. You know the ones I'm talking about. While you are in your nice, warm car on a freezing winter day and you see someone running down the road, yes, that would be me. I ran my first marathon in 2011, the Indianapolis Monumental, with some friends. I remember my palms being sweaty as I hit submit to sign up. I was so proud of the fact that I finished that I was easily convinced to do another, then another, then another. Taking part in the 2012 Chicago Marathon has clearly been the highlight of my running life. Not many runners end up with their photo on the front page of the Chicago Tribune the day after the marathon. At the end of 2013, I will have completed three road marathons this year alone and five total road marathons and one trail marathon over the last three years.

After I joined the Striders, the running community in Northwest Indiana simply embraced me. Area residents still don't understand my love for Cincinnati sports teams, but they embraced me anyway. So when time for a true change came in my professional life and I was able to join the team at Ideas in Motion Media, I knew this would be an exciting experience.

I can still remember my friend, Sara, convincing me that if she would sign up for a half-marathon, then so would I. Training began in February for a race in early May. As part of the training, we started going to many of the local races. It seemed like every time I went to a race there were more and more familiar faces. This is exactly how I see IIMM evolving. I want to hear people say "Did you see that on NWIndianaLife...."

I truly believe that IIMM provides a new and exciting way to create long-term partnerships. We are constantly evolving and collaborating with new partners and continue to come up with creative ways to get their businesses spotlighted more than ever. My goal is to have all of our partners say that "if you aren't working with IIMM, then you are missing out." With this mindset, IIMM can be the number one media outlet in Northwest Indiana.

How can you not love a company that spreads the good news? Being able to tell even just one new person about what we do at IIMM everyday and see responses like “really? that sounds amazing,” has been a true joy. Working with the group at IIMM instills an enormous amount of pride in what I do. The entire team works so hard to embrace all of the amazing happenings in Northwest Indiana. I truly believe in their mission to bring all the good news to the area. My hope is to continue to be part of the success that IIMM already has already achieved, but also to help push it to even greater heights.