I am the general manager (in Ripon), so I’m responsible for the things that happen within this plant location, everything from estimating through billing including all the manufacturing areas. The entire team works to support and service our customers.
Yes, that we’re an effective and efficient location.
One of the things most critical to me is the growth of every employee here. I love mentoring. I love bringing people along and helping them grow as employees and individuals. That’s a huge responsibility that I take seriously.
Since 2016, I joined the company in March of 2016.
I started as the director of customer care, responsible for estimating, customer service and planning. I was promoted to president in June of 2018 and served in that role until the Lyke family sold the business. I became general manager when Walsworth purchased Ripon Printers.
I’ve been in the print industry my entire career. I went to UW-Stout which has a graphic communications management program. I also have my MBA from UW-Oshkosh.
I’ve held a lot of different roles in the print industry. I was a customer service rep. I was an estimator. I managed the old composition and keylining departments if you’re familiar with that. I managed prepress. For many years, I was VP of Manufacturing at a large sheet-fed company (Independent Printing in De Pere, Wisconsin).
I find printing to be a unique combination of craft and technology. When I got into the industry, I loved art, and I loved books. I knew I didn’t have the talent to be an artist, but printing combined all of those interests.
If students have an interest in art and they enjoy technology, printing is such a unique combination of both of those things. If they are creative, most of those kids want to be designers, which can be competitive. Plus, the wage potential is higher if they get into more technical fields such as prepress. Those are some of my talking points when I visit career fairs.
I do, but I just say, “look around you.” See everything that is printed. Go to the grocery store. Print isn’t just brochures, books, and newspapers. It’s packaging; it’s labels. There are so many avenues for print. And we need people. We’re not going away.
No, I’m originally from southwest Minnesota, out on the prairie. My high school graphic arts teacher went to UW-Stout, so that’s how I ended up in Wisconsin. I’ve lived in Wisconsin since my high school graduation. And I converted to a (Green Bay) Packer fan.
I have a sister in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I have another sister who ended up living in Wisconsin, too.
Absolutely. My in-laws have season tickets. When we first moved to Appleton, we started using the season tickets in ‘92 with the Brett Favre era and into all of those playoff years.
So, there are two. One was a Carolina Panthers playoff game. I don’t remember what year (Editor’s note: January 1997). It was raining in the middle of winter. The weather was pretty tough, and the Carolina fans were not prepared for it.
The other one I remember was a game on Christmas Eve 1995. The opposing team (Pittsburgh) threw what would have been a touchdown pass to win the game, but the receiver dropped the ball in the end zone. His name was Yancey Thigpen. I’ll always remember his name. When the Steelers came back to Lambeau Field, we all cheered for Yancey Thigpen because he helped the Packers clinch the NFC Central division and get homefield advantage in the first playoff game.
My husband and I enjoy going to auctions and antiquing. We’ve also been doing a lot of landscaping, enjoying that more. We planted more than one hundred flowers and shrubs over the last two summers.
My husband, Greg, and I have two girls. Olivia and Valerie are twins. They are 26. Thankfully, they live nearby. Olivia is up in Green Bay, and Valerie is in Oshkosh, so we get to see them fairly regularly.
They are identical, but you can tell them apart.
Both went to college and graduated during the pandemic. Olivia is in driver recruiting at Schneider National, and Valerie is a customer service rep at a local bank.
The Ripon community is just a wonderful, close-knit, small-town community. Ripon Main Street is an organization that has really revitalized the downtown area. (The company) has always been, and continues to be, very involved in the community whether it’s through supporting financially or volunteering. Many people here volunteer.
I teach a Junior Achievement class. I taught it for many years in Oshkosh and started in Ripon this spring. It is a middle school class where the students learn about finances and career paths. I find it very enjoyable as it is useful information for the kids.
Outside of work, Julie teaches a Junior Achievement class.
Both my parents were teachers.
My mother taught English. And my father taught typing and business. We have a collection of old typewriters that he started.
I also collect blow mold snowmen - the old kitschy kind that you put out for the holidays.
If I were to choose a meal, it would be steak and a baked potato.
I don’t know. (laughing) I think you should ask someone else that.
Kelly (Mundell) or Gail (Novitske)
(From Kelly Mundell: “She loves task lists, so it would probably look like the To Do List mug, except she drinks tea, not coffee. Or the one about keeping calm and smiling because she is always calming us down and encouraging us.”
From Gail: “Keep Calm and Put it on a Task List.”)