Office Manager Sandra Grondin

With an always pleasant and calming voice, Franklin Journal Office Manager Sandra Grondin, or Sandi as she prefers, always answers the phone the same way, “Franklin Journal, Livermore Falls Advertiser and Sun Journal.”

I’m not sure if she will be adding the Rangeley Highlander (RH) to that list in her phone greeting, but I do know I am happy to hear she is the person chosen to replace me in handling RH classifieds, subscriptions, and obituaries.

Sandi and I have been co-workers for about eight years now, and she is a good listener, which means she is great at customer service. It helps when you’re a positive type of person.

“I love who I work with. I love the people. Well, everybody! Anyone who calls!”, says Sandi.

Even if the call is about something not so pleasant, like an obituary, or a delay in delivery due to icy roads, when sometimes all she can do is listen.

For example, she empathizes when someone wonders why the paper is late, and why things aren’t like they used to be.

“And they talk about, ‘Well, when I delivered papers, it was uphill both ways’,” Sandi laughs.

She, too, enjoys reading the printed newspaper. “There are a lot of people just like me. I grab a paper when I come here in the morning, open it up, look it through, make sure I’m not in the obituaries, and…”

I interrupt her by laughing.

“You laugh, but my husband opened it up one morning, when he was still working at the mill, and he was like, ‘Oh, I don’t think I’m going to work today’. And I said, ‘Really, how come?’ He said, ‘Look, it’s my obituary in the paper. Same middle initial and everything’,” says Sandi, laughing again.

As you might imagine, it’s nice chatting with Sandi.

She grew up in Jay, not too far from where she lives now. She and her husband, and her three children all grew up in the same area, and so she is very familiar with Franklin County.

She started as a freelancer almost 25 years ago, and then worked her way up to staff writer. She then decided to get her degree and had a brief stint as a medical assistant. However, she disliked the strictly timed medical consultations. Preferring what she calls “more human deadlines”, she returned to the newspaper industry.

“I’ve been doing this for so long now though, and I just smile. People can hear you smile.”

Both lighthearted and professional, I’m very glad to introduce her to you and to assure you that you are truly in good hands.