Two Rivers Marketing firm grieves loss, looks ahead
By WILLIAM RYBERG, TOM ALEX and DONNELLE ELLER
REGISTER STAFF WRITERS
November 15, 2006
Tom Dunphy loved the Des Moines area. He loved his staff. And he loved a challenge, like turning an old, empty Des Moines warehouse into a stunningly modern-looking new headquarters for his company, Two Rivers Marketing.
"This building was a passion of Tom's," said Jeff White, a group manager at Two Rivers Marketing. "Part of it was being able to make something from nothing," just as he and a partner had done with the marketing business they founded in 2000.
Dunphy, three staff members and a pilot died Monday night near South Bend, Ind., after the twin-engine Cessna T303 they were traveling in slammed into a cornfield in LaPorte County. Killed in the crash from Two Rivers Marketing were:
- Dunphy, 41, of Clive, the firm's president.
- Leslie O'Bannon, 27, of Des Moines, an account executive.
- Eric Jacobs, 31, of Ankeny, the company's information technology leader.
- Josh Trainor, 23, of Des Moines, an information technology specialist.
The LaPorte County sheriff's office in Indiana identified the plane's pilot as John Mitch Trewet, 45, of Atlantic.
Crash investigators said the plane, which was headed to Ankeny, spiraled to the ground, killing all five aboard on impact. Debris was scattered over an area the size of a football field, said John Sullivan, LaPorte County chief deputy coroner. Crews on Tuesday were using a crane to pull wreckage from the field, where it was embedded several feet into the earth.
The crash site is the middle of fields separated by rows of trees, with the closest home about 300 yards away.
Disturbing sound
Resident Cathy Olson said the plane sounded as if it was in trouble when it flew over.
"All of a sudden, we heard a big bang," Olson said.
Authorities said it was dark and overcast when the plane took off just after 7 p.m. Monday. Officials reported poor visibility and fog in the area at the time of the crash.
"It was not a good night to fly," Sullivan said.
It was only the second time that Two Rivers had chartered a plane for a business trip. The first time was last week, said Brian Jones, 44, the other major partner in Two Rivers and the firm's chief financial officer.
Dunphy and other company leaders decided it was a good idea to spend extra money on charters because such trips could be made in a single day, getting staff members back to home and family quicker, Jones said. Trips via commercial flights, which Two Rivers had been using, could last two or three days.
"It was all about associates and family," he said. "Tom was a family man and a religious man and a fun guy."
The Two Rivers group had flown to Indiana Monday morning. About 6:20 p.m., Dunphy called his wife and told her he and his co-workers were about to head home, Jones said.
The plane took off about 7 p.m. (Iowa time) and was 20 or 30 minutes into the flight when a distress call was received from the plane, saying the aircraft was experiencing engine trouble, Jones said.
Controllers lost radar and radio contact with the plane. The wreckage was found about 90 minutes later.
Jones called a staff meeting shortly after 8 a.m. Tuesday, breaking the news to the 55 employees and telling them that business would carry on because that's what their four co-workers would want.
Some workers were still teary eyed a few hours later.
Flower arrangements from other Des Moines businesses sat in the area. Some competitors telephoned.
"We called to let them know there are a lot of people out there who care about them," said Mike Schreurs, chief executive of Strategic America.
Colleagues' "tribute"
Jones said the business would survive and continue to grow. "That's what they would have wanted," he said. "This will be our tribute to them."
The loss, however, will continue to be felt, he added.
"This isn't something we're going to get over today or next week or a month from now," Jones said.
The Two Rivers agency, a winner of awards in its industry, was founded in April 2000. Its clients, including Fortune 500 companies, are mostly companies in agriculture, manufacturing and finance, Jones said.
The cover of The Des Moines Register's Tuesday business section included a feature on Two Rivers Marketing's new offices. At press time, it was not known that people associated with Two Rivers Marketing were aboard the plane.
While some businesses have fled downtown Des Moines, Two Rivers remained mostly because a poll of the firm's employees showed that that's where they wanted to work, White said.
Dunphy wanted the company to be "where the associates (Dunphy's term for his employees) wanted to be," said White.
Making it happen took determination. Two Rivers had outgrown its offices in another East Village building a couple of years ago. Two Rivers had the former Ramsey Pontiac building in downtown Des Moines renovated, but fire destroyed it before the agency could move in.
Two Rivers then chose another East Village site, a former General Motors warehouse at 106 E. Sixth St.
Dunphy "loved that building," said Bryan Shiffler, an architect who led the designing of the new office space.
"The thing I learned from Tom Dunphy in a year of working with him was his absolute love of life and love of business. I so admired the way he balanced both of them," said Shiffler, manager of Shiffler Associates Architects of Des Moines.
Reporter William Ryberg can be reached at (515) 284-8104 or bryberg@dmreg.com
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