Hello Charlie, it’s great to chat with you today. Can you start by telling us how long you have been with Walsworth and how you joined?

I joined back in April 1994. I had just bought a new truck and needed to pay for it somehow. (laughs) 

My uncle worked for Walsworth, and he recommended I come here. I started as a general worker in the Cover Department, eventually became a case maker operator on the off shifts. Then I got back to day shifts on the cutter operator, where I worked for about 10 years and then became the Cover Department lead. Then in December of 2024, I became the Cover Department Supervisor.

So you’ve been with Walsworth now for 30+ years. What specifically about the company has led you to stay as long as you have?

I’ve felt a responsibility to raise my family here, and I wanted a job that was local to the Marceline area. I never wanted to be away from home. Our kids went to school in Marceline. It’s always been easy and convenient.

Can you talk a little bit about the technology advances you’ve watched in your department over the past 30 years?

Well when I first started the case makers were all manual. You put them in gear with your hands. The cutter I trained on was all manual.

Now everything is computerized and all you have to do is push a button for it to go where you tell it. Cutters are the same way. You can program your cuts and just hit a button.

So yes, technology from 1994 to today has really taken a jump, in a good way. It helps us be more efficient, and efficiency is what we need because it’s hard getting good labor and we need the team to be efficient.

When you talk to the younger generation about coming to work at Walsworth, how do you convince them that printing or manufacturing can be a good place to make a living?

What I tell them is, it’s not outside work where you’re in 30 degree weather one day and 100 degree weather the next day. It’s always conveniently 70 degrees in here. 

What do you think has allowed the company to be as successful and sustainable as it has been for the past 80 years?

The main thing I think is being family-owned. A lot of people in America will look at that, and they want to support a family business.

What’s a typical day or week look like for you?

Right now as a supervisor, we’re getting ready to get hit with a yearbook rush. So when I get work in the morning, I make sure my off shifts have done what they were supposed to do and get my day shift paperwork ready.

Since I grew up in the Cover Department, I’m on the floor a lot. I spend time helping my employees figure stuff out. I do a lot of walking the floor, checking on people.

What do you think makes a good manager or successful supervisor?

I like to try to make my team happy. I know that I can’t all the time, but I like to listen to them. As somebody who came up through the ranks, I understand what their feelings are and I think that’s what they appreciate about me. 

They know I’m upfront with them and they appreciate that. 

You’re originally from the area, correct?

I graduated from Bucklin High School in 1989. Bucklin is about 10 minutes away from Marceline, right next door. I went to Moberly Area Community College and got my Associate’s Degree.

After college I started farming on the family farm, then decided I would buy that truck and I needed a job. Walsworth is where I’ve been my whole career.

Can you tell us about life outside of work? Tell us about your family.

My wife Amy and I got married in 1995. She went to Bucklin High School, a couple years younger than me. We’ve got three kids, Autumn, Bryce and Baylee.

My oldest daughter Autumn is local right here in Brookfield, with her husband and three kids. We’ve got three grandsons. Bryce is now an athletic trainer for the Mississippi State University football team. Baylee is going to MU to get her master’s degree right now. She went to Missouri S&T and played softball.

In spare time, I farm on the side. We have about 100 heads of cows and some row crop that I used to do. I rent it out now, but in the past when I was younger, I tried to row crop, raise cattle and work also.

It sounds like your spare time is spent with the family and on the farm.

Yeah, we did a lot of traveling with my daughter when she played softball. 

Now that we’re empty nesters, Amy and I like to go on weekend trips to breweries and wineries around here. But other than that, I keep busy on the farm.

What’s one thing about you that people might not know?

I would say that I’m a pretty soft-hearted guy. People at work probably don’t realize that with me being the boss and I can be pretty hardcore. But at the end of the day, I’m pretty soft-hearted.

Do you have a favorite meal or type of food?

Probably a good steak, since I raise cattle. 

Do you have a favorite movie or TV show?

48 Hours, Forensic Files and Dateline. 

You mentioned travelling a lot with your daughter for softball. Were there any particularly memorable family trips you guys took?

We went to Cancun five or six years ago, all of us as a family. That was a much-needed break for everyone.

If you had a personalized coffee mug, what would it say?

It would probably say “hard a**” (laughs)

Do you have a favorite memory from your career, or a particular accomplishment that you’re most proud of?

I would say just a year ago, when I became a supervisor. Coming from the floor and working my way up as a general worker, working all the way through the Cover Department and finally getting that shot to be the supervisor of the department where I’ve worked for 30 years. That’s what I’m most proud of.