Julie Huffmon

Take us back to when and how you joined the company back in the day. 

I started in 1987 as a cottage worker. I worked for the Typing department. They would deliver work to me in the morning and they would pick it up in the afternoon. It allowed me to stay home with my children until they went to kindergarten.

As soon as they went to school, I went into the office, where I was the commercial secretary for Sallie Buck. That was really the start of my career, and I always wanted more. So from there, I did a stint in Computer Support and then went on to become a customer service rep.

After several years, I was asked to be the Customer Service Manager and I have been in this position since 2001.

You were there at the beginning of commercial making a lot of technological advances, right?

When I first started, we were taking photos and outputting film. We would typeset copy in house and then we would send to an outside vendor who formatted the text and returned “slicks” to be shot by camera.

The photos and the text film would then be stripped into flats. I remember thinking, “Why don’t we do this ourselves?”

When we got PageMaker, we started doing it on our own. We didn’t call it Pre-media back then, but this is when Commercial Desktop started. There lies the rest of the story.

I was the support person for commercial. Back in that day, we only had five sales reps, not the 40-some we have now. The pre-press area for commercial grew substantially at that point because we had customers like PCA that were doing 700-800 books a year. We had a lot of typesetting and design work, and teaching customers how to do PDFs. It’s grown to what it is today.

Can you kind of explain what all is involved with your current role? And what’s a typical day like for you? 

I work a lot with helping sales reps to bring on new customers, assisting them in any way I can. I have an absolute wonderful group of CSRs who service our existing customers, and I’m there to help with anything they need, helping them with their day to day.

For many of my years, I’ve had a very experienced staff which has made it very easy, and either those experienced staff have moved up to different positions in the company or they’ve retired. Right now is probably the first time in a long time that we are outnumbered by new employees. I have three CSRs under a year. So, you know, we are a little more hand holding than we have done in the past.

I am constantly looking for opportunities for us to improve and for us to improve our processes with our customers. That’s basically what I do all day, answer questions, take care of whatever anybody asks of me.

You also play a key role on a lot of teams. You seem like one of those people who is happy to jump in and be part of a solution. 

I have served on many teams. I want the best for the company. I will argue with the best to make sure that we are following processes.

Just in the first 10 minutes of our conversation, you’ve described how you’ve been on the front lines and seen a lot of the change and the evolution of the company. What stands out to you when you think about how the company has changed during your time? 

I was the Customer Service Manager for several years when Duane Dorrell retired, I believe around 2006, and I was given the Pre-press Department to manage. Back then, it was basically commercial and imposing yearbook parts.

Since then, we’ve automated yearbook. We had close to 45 employees in that department, and now we have less than 10. We evaluated the touchpoints and streamlined the processes with technology and process changes.

With the changes in Pre-press, it allowed us to move people into other departments where they’ve been successful.

You’ve obviously made a career out of working for Walsworth. What is it about the company that you believe has allowed you to stay here for more than 35 years?

I feel like I have had a voice with this company. I see things and I want to improve them. And I don’t feel like I’ve ever been held back here.

I’ve had the privilege of working with great bosses who have allowed me to bring ideas forward and change processes when they are needed.

What was it about the company, or maybe the print industry specifically, that appealed to you?

Well, I started so young. My first career was going to be as a hairdresser, believe it or not. (laughs) I quickly realized that was not what I wanted to do.

But you know, having kids and being able to stay home and work was a great opportunity. Back then, knowing that there were so many opportunities was amazing. Still today, I see a lot of opportunities to change processes and keep people engaged in helping improve our company.

Even though your retirement is coming up soon, when you think about what Walsworth needs to do to continue to grow and be successful, what would you pinpoint?

Just continue to maintain accountability. I feel like we have great people here, great supervisors, great managers, but everybody needs to be held accountable from the bottom up.

Are you from the Marceline/Brookfield area? Did you grow up around here?  

I was actually raised on a farm outside of Chicago. I moved to Missouri when I was 10 years old.

Can you tell us a little bit about your family?

My husband Mike and I have four children. We have 11 grandchildren. They range in age from almost 19 to two.

They are all involved in competitive sports of some kind, so my husband and I are constantly on the road going to games.

We love to travel. Mike and I have been to probably close to 20 countries and almost all of the states.

Are there a couple of specific trips you guys have taken that stand out as favorites? 

We’ve taken two European trips for two and a half weeks each. We really loved those. We love architecture and history and there is so much of that to see in Europe.

Where specifically in Europe did you guys hit?

We’ve gone to 14 European countries, and I’d say our favorites are Italy, Belgium and Poland.

Obviously following the grandkids keeps you plenty busy. But are there other hobbies? 

I love home improvement. I did a flip on one house back in 2015. That might be something I get into more when I retire. But yeah, I am constantly remodeling my house.

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

I’m very socially awkward. I am fine in my element at work and I’m fine when I’m very familiar with people, but I’m not a big social person.

I have three sisters. Those are my people. But just to go out and be overly social in public, I’m not.

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

Excuse her mouth. J

Are you much of a reader? Do you have a favorite book? 

I do love to read, and that’s probably something I will do more of when I retire. Right now I just don’t have time.

I like novels. I really like biographies.

What’s a good biography you’ve read recently?

I recently read the story of Matthew Perry. I really enjoyed that. I’m always looking for some new books.

Do you have a favorite movie or TV show?

My go-to show when I can’t sleep is Friends. I’ve seen it so many times that I can put it on any time, and I can just shut my mind off. My mind never rests.

What about a favorite meal?

Anything at Pear Tree. (Pear Tree Kitchen in Macon, Missouri)

You and your husband do a fair amount of traveling to concerts, right? Even to award shows?

We do. We’ve been to the CMA Fest three times in Nashville.

Is there any specific concert experience that stands out as a favorite?

We saw Elton John in D.C. on his last tour, and we went to Bob Seger on his last tour. Loved them both. We tend to gravitate toward country music, but I love older music too.

When you reflect back on it, do you have a favorite memory from your time at Walsworth?

It’s so bittersweet, because the CSRs I work with, there’s just been so much time together. We’ve raised our kids and our grandkids together. We’ve all grown up together. From our 20s to… I’m not gonna say our age, but we’ve always been together.