Bluffton, Ada Icons passed to new generation of owners

BLUFFTON — The Bluffton and Ada Icons passed on to their second generation of owners at the beginning of the month. Fred and Mary Pannabecker Steiner, who launched the two community journalism websites, announced Ryan and Gayle Lowry of Bluffton as the new owners beginning July 1. Fred Steiner said the Lowrys helped start the websites — the Bluffton Icon in 2009 and the Ada Icon in 2012 — and continued to play "significant behind-the-scene roles as the Icons grew and expanded." The Lowrys and Steiners will host a reception from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday at The Greenhorn Restaurant, 112 Vine St., Bluffton. Readers and other members of the public are invited to attend. Steiner said both Ryan and Gayle Lowry grew up in Bluffton and are Bluffton High School graduates. Gayle is a Bluffton University alumna, and Ryan graduated from Ohio Northern University. Steiner said he will continue to write columns for the publications, and plans to launch a blog later this month. Looking back, Steiner said there was no model for starting an entirely online news publication. "The Bluffton Icon was Ohio's first web-only community journalism news source," said Steiner. At its launch in 2009, he said, the concept was so new that the Ohio Newspaper Association did not permit it to be a member because it was not a printed newspaper. That changed as the statewide news organization changed its name to Ohio News Media Association and began accepting websites like the Icons into its membership. The Icons became the first web-only news organizations to join the ONMA.