Ithaca’s long-time resident and multi-generational business owner, Roy H. Park, Jr., has a new book on business and life.

 

Sons in the Shadow: Surviving the Family Business as an SOB* (Son of the Boss) is an extraordinary story of Roy H. Park, pillar of the Ithaca community and the author’s father, was an entrepreneur listed in the original 1982 Forbes 400, who grew up on a small North Carolina farm, put himself through college during the Great Depression, and went through four careers to build a multimedia empire. His company, Park Communications, Inc., included radio, TV and newspaper media and outdoor billboards in 23 states reached 25 percent of the American public before his death in 1993. The author, Roy H. Park Jr., is the President and CEO of Park Outdoor Advertising, a thriving billboard company headquartered in Ithaca, New York, covering 15,000 square miles of upstate New York, with divisions in Elmira, Binghamton, Syracuse, and Utica.

 

This compelling family saga has been well-received gaining a 4.8 star rating on Amazon with hundreds of positive reviews. Below is a sampling:

 

Few people are in a position to offer an inside view of such an important and intriguing business pioneer. Fewer, still, have the keen eye for detail required to take full advantage of such an opportunity. In Sons in the Shadow, Roy Park Jr.’s virtuosity as a writer shines on every page.
It is a gripping human drama. —Award-winning author and commentator Robert H. Frank, Professor of Management and Economics, Cornell University Johnson Graduate School of Management, Ithaca, NY.

 

Sons in the Shadow is an important contribution to the historical record of media and business in 20^th Century America…and makes it clear that by serving others through enterprise and public service one’s impact will reverberate for generations to come.
—Roger Ream, President, Fund For American Studies, D.C

Notable Book Facts:

• It is a heart-felt story of the often-complicated relationship between father and son in business.
• The book exemplifies the power of the American Dream; free enterprise and the levels of success one is capable of when education meets opportunity.
• Park-Hines Foods became one of the country’s first franchisers with the formation of the Duncan Hines brand and cake mix line.
• Roy H. Park knew that education was the path to success and began his education with a degree in journalism from North Carolina State University. His foundation and legacy, carried on by his son and author of the book, Roy H. Park, Jr., has provided over $120M in masters and doctorate college scholarships.
• Sam Johnson of S.C. Johnson, one of the most successful family businesses in the country, who worked with two Park generations on behalf of Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management, was the first to suggest this book be written.
• The book takes an in-depth look into the world of communications, journalism, advertising and high-powered business deals and acquisitions in the latter half of the 20^th Century, one that should not be forgotten.

 

We hope you enjoy reading this ode to the American spirit written by a local legend which provides an educational adventure into the world of high-powered business while divulging how the joys and tensions of family dynamics were intertwined in daily work life and in forging of one of the most successful media empires in the country. Perhaps even more notably, Sons in the Shadow is a tale of a son’s creativity, resilience and perseverance, learned forgiveness, and the study of the human soul.

 

Find links to purchase hard cover, soft cover, and Kindle versions of Sons in the Shadow, Surviving the Family Business as an SOB* (Son of the Boss) at: https://www.sonsintheshadow.com