Don Walsworth

What are your memories, or what was your perception, of the family business when you were growing up?

My memories as a little kid were the smell of ink and the huge cameras in the building. Back then the printing plant was where the Corporate Offices are now. To think now that everything (offices and production) fit in that old footprint is pretty amazing.

Did you live close by?

We lived three blocks away and would go up there on the weekends with my Dad.

So you did get to help out when you were a kid sometimes?

I worked there when I was in middle school and high school on weekends when somebody didn’t show up and during the summers. The phone would ring about five after eight saying someone was out, and we would all fill in where we needed to.

I remember I hated working on the collator. (laughs) Back then, it would break down, and we would have to stop to pull out anything stuck.

I remember in the late ‘70s or early ‘80s, interest rates were around 20-25%, and things were tight. We would all go to the plant to work at night, including my family, the executives and their wives. I can remember hearing my Dad leave to go up there again at 3 or 4 a.m. each morning, and my Mom doing anything that needed done. She also started our internal newsletter, the Walpaper. She used to do the whole Walpaper herself.

Those were hard times; we barely made it through. It’s nice that we’re having the good times now, but I remember the hard times too. People don’t always realize the thing about family businesses – it’s peaks and valleys. I remember people were literally having prayer vigils across town for the company to survive. There were times when we weren’t sure how to make payroll. Some employees told us not to pay them that week, to just make it up when we could. People were really invested in the company and wanted to see it succeed. They wanted to be part of it.

Was there a specific age, or anything like that, where the realization hit you that our company is pretty important to the community?

I would say it was probably then – around that 1979/1980 timeframe when I was in middle school. That was when it really became apparent. The community support was really incredible.

Back then, we had a predominantly female workforce in Pre-press in Brookfield. Everything was done by hand; it wasn’t computerized the way it is now. We would have 300-500 people working during the season. Typically, these were women, and it worked great because their husbands were farmers. This gave them a chance to work during yearbook season and have benefits, then have summers off when their kids were out of school. Early on, we built our company around that; those type of jobs were important to the community.

I remember your Dad telling a story about him and your Mom going to get loans around that timeframe.

I just remember that we were a pretty big credit risk. We were not getting the best rates. (laughs) It was hard to find somebody to loan us money.

That was the hard part. Every offseason we would have to borrow money to pay the workforce before the yearbook schools paid their bills. And we used to say if we ever didn’t have to do that, we could get ahead.

What helped the company succeed during/after those rough years?

My dad took some really important steps. One was bringing in new professional sales management. A key hire was Vic Eaton, who also brought Jim Pinney on board. That was important because Jim brought so many additional people here. It was a changing point for us. The other was creating the commercial printing division.

About when did the commercial part come?

That also was the early ‘80s. The commercial side of our business started as a way to keep our talented people employed when it wasn’t yearbook season. Having items to print the whole year, we were able to keep our team in place.

By investing in the right equipment and retaining our talented employees, we’ve had huge growth in commercial printing, and we’re now recognized as a top yearbook, book, magazine and catalog printer.

When we talked to your son Tripp a few months back, he talked about how when he left school, he wanted to get some experience doing his own thing before he felt like it was time to come back to the family business. Was there anything similar for you at the same age?

I think most people have heard my golf story by now. I was really fortunate to grow up in a small town (Marceline). We didn’t have anything else to do, so I played golf. (laughs) And I actually got really good at it.

I got a scholarship to play golf at Stanford University and won the biggest tournament in our conference. So I turned professional, and I was playing golf all over the world. But once my wife Shea and I had kids, I realized my professional goals and personal goals were never going to align. Professionally, I was traveling and was gone all the time. Personally, I think at the time I stopped playing golf, Tripp was 2 and a half, and our daughter Kate was six months old. It was just one of those things where you wake up one day and you say, it’s time to go home. It’s time to be a husband and a father.

So how did you get started in the family business?

Well back then my Dad always used to say that yearbooks were like our anchor store in the mall. I wasn’t sure exactly what I was going to do, but my Dad was pretty adamant that I needed to start in the Kansas City office and learn the yearbook side of the business.

So I started as a sales rep. I had my own territory, and I had a great mentor in Jim Pinney. I learned everything from him. I used to go into his office with a question and would end up sitting in there for an hour or two, talking about things. He was great.

How did you enjoy the sales end of it?

I enjoyed the sales and servicing part, but I think what’s most important was understanding what our reps go through. Today when I’m talking to sales managers or talking to sales reps, I know what they’re going through. And just to understand that cycle from when school starts all the way through invoicing and delivery.

Then you became an area sales manager for a little bit, right?

Yes, for a while. And then when Jim Pinney retired, I took over as the VP of yearbook sales. So I kind of grew up in the yearbook world. That’s what I’ve been around the longest. And now with the commercial side of the business, and all our other locations, it’s been really enjoyable getting to learn that side of the business as well.

In your current role as company president, what’s a typical day like for you?

(laughs) It’s a lot of reading things people send me — lots and lots of emails to keep me updated on everything going on in the business. Jim Mead has been a great COO. From an operations and manufacturing side, we talk two or three times a day. He’s always bringing me up to speed on what’s going on everywhere, which has been so important. I’m talking to the sales guys all the time too, getting updates on where we are.

The rest of my time is spent focusing on where we want to go and looking at building strategies and plans for the future. I like to say that I try not to work in the business. I try to work on the business.

How would you describe the current state of the company?

I think the trajectory we’re on is incredible. You know, a couple of our yearbook competitors are imploding a bit. It’s really exciting that we have been growing the yearbook side. We recently became the third largest yearbook company, surpassing one of our competitors. And in the past couple of years, we’ve had the least turnover of yearbook sales reps we’ve ever had.

From the commercial side, we’ve built the technology and capacity with the equipment we’ve purchased over the last three or four years. We have a great reputation and have the capabilities to compete with any other printer out there. Now that we’ve built the structure and foundation to really grow, our biggest goal is growing that market.

What do you see as some specific keys for growing in the future? How do we do that?

We’ve got a lot of sales reps who are close to retirement on the commercial side. We’ve got to continue bringing in hungry sales reps. It’s all about people.

Printing is your family business. If you were to describe what you love about printing, how would you describe it?

On the yearbook side, I love seeing the kids opening up their books for the first time. And with our commercial customers, the same thing. It’s their experience. To me, it’s less about the end product and more about the experience of getting there that we can provide them. I love seeing emails that compliment their CSR or their sales rep.

We’ve got great people, and I think we provide a great experience. That’s the part that excites me – how can we continue to improve that experience for customers, so they don’t ever want to leave?

We’ve already mentioned how your son Tripp has come on board within the past year. What’s it been like, working with him in the same office?

It’s been super fun. It’s great that he comes in and asks me questions. I think my wife and kids would tell you I’ve been pretty good over the years at not bringing my job home. But now we talk about work at dinner.

It’s fun for me. It’s exciting for me to see how excited he is about it. It’s been a breath of fresh air, and it’s rejuvenated me a bit.

If your grandparents could see what the company has become now, what do you think they would think of it?

I hope they’d be overjoyed. I mean, the fact that we’ve done what we’ve done and that we’re still providing jobs and opportunities for people in the rural areas we are located, I think they would be really proud.

What can you say about the role your Dad has played in your career, and this company?

He came out of college and has been running the company since 1957. I think the continuity of leadership has been good for us. We’re about to have turnover on our leadership team, so we’re going to have some people join us with new leadership styles and new ideas; I’m excited about that.

I always tell people that my Dad is not about the cup being half full or half empty, he’s about the cup running over. He’s an optimist and a great deal of the success of this company can be attributed to his leadership.

Are there things (Don O. Walsworth, CEO) still wants to accomplish?

Probably. I think he wants to see commercial sales grow and definitely expansion into new markets.

My Dad told me a long time ago to go out and hire the best people who know more than you do — people who can do their job, who are really knowledgeable. Then nurture them. Let them do their job. Trust people. That’s worked well for us and speaks to his leadership style.

How did you and your wife Shea meet?

We met on a blind date, actually. The guy who introduced us, my friend Andy Hill, is an assistant coach for the Kansas City Chiefs. He was an assistant coach at Mizzou for like 27 years. We went on the blind date, and the rest is history.

Were you in Columbia at the time?

I was in Marceline at the time and Shea was still in college. I was traveling all the time, Asia and elsewhere, for golf.

How many years have you guys been married?

We’ve been married 31 years. It will be 32 in December. We have our two kids, Tripp and Kate, and our 4-year old Cavapoo, Emmy.

There’s an easy, obvious answer to this question. But when you’re not at work, what hobbies do you like to do for fun?

I like to play golf, obviously. I need more hobbies. My wife tells me that I’m going to need more hobbies when I retire.

I go in spurts with reading. Shea will laugh if she sees this, and I say I’m reading. But I’ll read a lot, and then I won’t read for a year.

We play pickleball as a family.

Is the golf game still pretty strong?

It’s pretty good still. Yeah.

What’s your favorite golf course you ever got to play?

People ask me that all the time. I would say probably the most beautiful, Pebble Beach.

What’s your favorite book?

I don’t know that I have a favorite book.

When I turned 60 last summer, Shea got me this book called Outlive by Peter Attia. I want to live a long time, so I better start now.

The book talks about your health span, your lifespan. We all are going to die sometime. How healthy are you going to be your last 10 years? My goal is to be as healthy and active as possible.

What about a favorite meal?

Honestly, anything that my wife makes. She is a fabulous cook. And there’s a story with that.

So, when I asked her Dad for her hand in marriage, the first thing he said to me was, “Well, Shea can’t cook.” (laughs) It was true at the time, but it also motivated her.

She took it as a challenge.

One of her PR clients was American Italian Pasta Company up in Excelsior Springs. When they were launching a line of flavored pastas, she would go on media tours around the country to key markets and book placements on morning shows with chefs. She became more of a foodie then from hanging around chefs. It was a crash course on cooking for her.

Is there a favorite vacation spot for the family?

My parents have a place in Naples, Florida. We try to go there in the wintertime, the same time every year and get the entire family together.

What’s a fun fact about you that most people might not know?

I’m a really big basketball fan. I love watching college basketball. And I was actually an All-State basketball player in high school. So that might be another hobby.

And there was a basketball connection between you and (yearbook sales rep) John Kelley, right?

We played on the same team in high school. He was two years younger than me – a sophomore when I was a senior.

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

Proud Dad sums it up.

Do you have a favorite moment or memory from the last 30+ years that stands out?

I think all the acquisitions we’ve made have been exciting. It’s been a thrill for me to go through that process and then to see the cultural fits and getting to know the people. We’ve added great people and communities.