Thanks for taking the time David! To start, can you let us know how long you’ve been with the company and how you came about joining Walsworth?

I started in September of 1999, so I’ve been here 26 years. I’m actually from this area but had moved away.

I find it to be an interesting story. I knew about Walsworth but didn’t really know much about the company. I knew someone who worked here, and they told me to come check it out. So I stopped by HR to drop off my resume and fill out an application.

I had no idea if there were any openings or not; it was just a cold call. But they gave my resume to the Executive Vice President of HR at the time, Ed Kennedy, and he came out and talked to me. They sent me over here to the Brookfield facility, and I had the opportunity to visit with supervisors and managers. The rest is history.

What was your background – had you studied or worked in printing?

I went to college at Central Missouri State, which is now the University of Central Missouri, where I started to develop an interest in printing and got into their print management program. At the time, it was nationally recognized.

During my junior year of college, I was recruited to go work for the federal government in a secure printing facility in Washington, D.C., so after graduation I made that transition and worked out there.

What type of work were you doing at the government facility?

It was a complete start to finish print facility. When I first started there, I rotated through all departments, spending several weeks in each. This included planning, pre-press, press and bindery. Really all over. After the rotation I settled in prepress. Which is where I stayed during my career there.

And then you wanted to get back near home?

Yeah, I grew up south of Brookfield. I was ready to make a change and found Walsworth.

Can you take us through the different positions you’ve had with Walsworth over the years?

I’ve always been in pre-press. When I came to Walsworth, I started at the Brookfield facility working in the commercial book group where my title was Commercial Support Specialist.

My role started in commercial, but it immediately began overlapping with yearbook production.

Then it quickly expanded to cover a wider scope, getting more into the workflow part of pre-press. Not just making PDFs, but how you take these PDFs and turn them into a printed book.

Eventually we implemented the workflow software that we still use today – Prinergy – and I became the Prinergy administrator for each site. Following that, I became the Production Development Supervisor in Brookfield, which is my current role.

Can you describe what a typical day looks like for you?

I’ve got to stay on top of the functionality of the workflow applications in all the facilities. If there are issues, those get funneled to me.

Day to day, I spend my time working on ongoing projects and offering advice and solutions to recent issues that have come up. Sometimes things can be resolved quickly and sometimes issues can take longer to resolve and require us to work with our vendor’s support group.

I really think of this position as a liaison between production, manufacturing and our IT group. We’re very dependent on the IT group for things to function. I help with scoping out changes, looking for efficiencies and determining how that’s going to affect each plant.

What do you think of the future for Walsworth from a technology standpoint, specifically in the areas you deal with in pre-press?

Technology will continue to play a big role. That along with keeping existing talent, as well as attracting and developing new skilled talent is going to be a must.

You’ve got to keep up with technology, and you need the right people to keep up with the demands of the production environment.

Let’s talk life outside of work. You mentioned being from the area. Specifically where did you grow up?

I grew up in Brunswick, Missouri, which is about 30 miles south of Brookfield. I went through school K-12 there. I’m actually still good friends with people I started out in kindergarten with and went all the way through to high school graduation.

You know, small town, small school. We all know each other’s parents, brothers, sisters and kids now.

You still have lots of family in the area?

Yeah, my dad still lives down in Brunswick and I’ve got two brothers. One is local, and the other is still in Missouri but he’s a little ways away.

And my family on my dad’s side is from Linn County, so I have ties up here as well.

What about hobbies?

I live on a small farm, and like most Midwest farms, we raise corn, soybeans, cattle. I call it a hobby, but sometimes it’s a second job and it definitely has its headaches. But I enjoy it. It’s fun for me.

My spousal equivalent, Lisa, and I enjoy life in the country. Actually, we live on the farm that her great grandparents owned and lived on and worked.

It sounds like most of your spare time off is spent working the farm.

Yeah, that’s what I do for fun. I say it’s for relaxation and meditation, but there’s some days it’s not very relaxing.

Fun question time: do you have a favorite book?

I’m not much of a reader anymore, but when I was a kid, I did read a lot. I liked reading westerns, mostly Louis L’Amour books. I also like non-fiction, history books.

Do you have a favorite movie or TV show?

I can’t pick one. I mostly like comedies, mostly sitcoms. I like to watch a show that has a beginning and an end within 30-60 minutes. I like just being able to sit there and laugh and enjoy the comedy.

Do you have a favorite food or meal?

My go to meal would be a well marbled ribeye steak with a loaded baked potato. I guess that’s my Midwest roots.

Do you have a favorite vacation you’ve taken?

We travel some. What we’ve started doing the last several years is block off time in the summer to take road trips.

We like to drive across America, just staying on two-lane roads, keeping off interstates. Checking out small town USA.

We do not follow a schedule. We don’t want to be on a time clock. We get a general idea of where we want to go and head that way. We’ve been to almost every corner of the U.S. so far. We’ve been to the east coast, down through Florida, out to California and up to Montana.

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

I don’t have a personalized one, but if I did it would say, “Sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug.” (laughs) I’ll let you decipher that one.

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

Something that comes up in my memories is when I first started here at Walsworth, I think back on the old timers I worked with; we had a lot of laughs and there was just a lot of camaraderie. I think of being the young kid coming in here and them helping me out and leading me through things.

Now I look around and it’s like I’m the old timer because I’m the age they were when I started.