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Show Sunday, November 7, CoinrcpoftittoEi's By SUSAN STROTHER The Orlando Sentinel Go to ORLANDO, Ha. seminar or business any lunch, and the talk is always about besting the other guy. Maybe you need to buy a new computer, take more classes anything to ensure you outfox the fellow down the street. s Then you run across owners such as Bonnie Donihi, Cheryl Belfay and Eric Schwab. And you realize that the world isn't all about eating or being eaten. Sometimes compassion can cut the throat of competition. About seven years ago, Donihi started an ad specialty company, Advertising Specialty Kompany, or ASK. Ad specialty folks are the ones who turn out those adult toys pens, and coffee mugs with corporate logos. Sales grew steadily and ' ASICs client list was impressive. But in 1995, just as she was poised to do $300,000 in sales, Donihi got the shock of her life one, in fact, that could have ended it. She had ovarian cancer. J? Donihi kept her business running even after a hysterectomy, chemotherapy and kidney failure. She also became an advocate for ovarian cancer awareness, even testifying before Congress. Then in 1998, three years a after she had beaten the disease, it came back, roaring through her body with a vengeance. More surgery, more chemotherapy. And this time, Donihi couldn't keep the business going. It wasn't just an occasional delay in filling orders. She wasn't healthy enough to scout for new clients, run an office and do all the things necessary to manage a small business. Enter Belfay and "Schwab, a husband-and-wif- e team who started AdSource Inc. about a decade ago. They knew Donihi and had talked casually some time back about joining forces. Then, it was only table chat. Belfay, Schwab and Donihi were competitors, sometimes pitching a piece of business to the very same people on the ? very same day. The couple saw Donihi fight her first round of cancer. They small-busines- ! rescooe caDncer 0 about clients, asked Donihi what they could do to help. Could they fill some orders? Answer the phone? Whatever she needed, they said, they ly full-tim- b I The three chatted, and a single sheet of notes about a prospective merger became a The only way people might know about it is if they happened to hear Belfay speak recently at a business event. She urged people at the meeting to attend an upcoming ovarian cancer awareness vigil. And she started crying when she talked about her friend who had battled the disease. legal document. The 17-pa- final details were ironed out while Donihi was in the hospital in 1998; the merger was effective earlier this year. This isn't a story that Belfay and Schwab talk about. J Page I 5 W9, THE DAILY HfcRALD. (www.heraidextra.com), Provo, Utah vicDinni also had seen how illness can wreck a small business. They have a friend who owns a warehouse business, but he needs a lung transplant Too sick to work, his business has fallen apart as he waits for a new lung. So when Belfay and Schwab learned Donihi's cancer had returned, they called her. These competitors, who normally wouldn't chat specifical- would like to do something. "When you see this happen to another business owner, it scares you," Belfay said. "As the owner, you have bottom-lin- e responsibility for everything." Donihi decided last fall the best thing she could do was get out of the business or at e least get out from a obligation. She had shopped the company around a bit, but a Belfay-Schwadeal was more to her liking. 1 J?k-- ft ANGELA PETERSONOrlando Sentinel At your service: Cheryl Belfay and Eric Schwab, above, owners of a specialty advertising business, stepped in to help a direct competitor, Bonnie Donihi, left, maintain clients and meet orders when she battled cancer. YOllVe Got a Lot o All to JULVe For I' r 111 Thousands of seniors die each year from the flu and pneumonia. Approximately half of these deaths could have been prevented by getting flu and pneumonia shots. m If you're over 65, don't put off protecting yourself against these deadly diseases. Several locations near you are offering these shots now. Call the Utah County Health Department adult immunization hotline at 3705738 for information Pneumonia Shot Each year in the U.S., more than 40,000 people die from pneumonia. While the flu shot must be These immunizations are a benefit covered 100 percent by Medicare Part B. Please bring your. Medicare card when you get your shots. s Flu Shot You can protect yourself from the flu. A flu shot now will give your body time to develop immunity before flu season begins. You cannot get the flu from a flu shot. given annually, the pneumonia vaccination can bCjgiven any time of year and protects you against harmful bacteria for several years. 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