Hi Samantha, great to get a chance to talk with you today. To start off, can you tell us how long you have been with the company and how it came about that you joined?

Sure. I have been with Documation and now Walsworth for 13 years.

I came here after college, just kind of looking for something to do. My mom, Patti Twite, works here as a hand bindery lead and I thought I would do some work in the bindery over the summer. From there, I ended up in pre-press.

Was this your first job out of college?

No, I had a few other jobs. I worked at a roller skating rink and a little bit of retail work, but then it was mostly restaurants working as a server.

Has your mom been with the company for a while?

Yes, and she got an award this year. She’s been with the company for 15-20 years.

Can you take us through the different jobs you’ve had with the company?

I started in rebinds, which is something we don’t do anymore, and involved cutting the spine off a book and putting in updates to text materials.

When there was an opening for an imposition technician in pre-press, I moved there and that’s what I have done for the majority of my time. I became pre-press manager here in 2023.

So in your current role as Pre-press Manager, what’s a typical day or week look like for you?

Every day is different, but I work heavily with our POD flow and automation. I get to create the flows and add any pre-press changes into all of our POD stuff as well. We’re also working on normal jobs every day.

Here in Eau Claire, we sometimes get 30+ jobs in at once. And when that happens, I try to figure out how to make a process go quicker; can I take something that takes an hour and cut it down to 10 minutes.

Obviously your mom worked here, so you were aware of the company, but beyond that was working in printing something you kept in mind for a career?

No, it just kind of fell into place here. Initially I thought I would get a job here for the time being while I’m trying to figure out what I want to do.

But once I got into pre-press, that all changed. I got to do file prep and stuff like that. Under Documation, we also had a wide format printer so I was operating that and the cutter, which was an adventure to say the least.

What do you love most about this job that prompted you to make it your career?

One thing I really like about my job is I get to be actively curious and really get my hands in there and figure out why a file may be failing, for example. How can I isolate this file in a flow when we’re processing hundreds of files a day?

Pre-press is constantly changing. It’s not the same as when I started or even last year. And I find that helpful for me to stay interested in what I’m doing. If I did the same thing every day, just repeat, repeat, repeat, I would get bored. But we always have something going on, and there’s always a way to fine tune something to make it go quicker.

It’s been a year of transition for the team at the Eau Claire facility. As you look toward the future, what do you see as the keys for continued success for the company?

Just staying on top of technology, specifically digging into automation. The more we can automate, the more jobs we will be able to take in. Making sure we’re continuing to evolve with the world around us will help us continue to be successful.

One of the similarities between Documation and Walsworth was both places have many long-time employees who have worked here for many years. Why do you think that is?

One of the big things for me is that I know I’m part of a team. There’s always moments of isolation, but in the end, we’re all one production team. What I do affects you; what you do affects the next person.

Did you grow up in the Eau Claire area?

I grew up in a town next to Eau Claire called Altoona, where I went to school.

Can you tell us a little bit more about your family?

My mom has been here in Eau Claire for a while. I have a sister who is 10 years older, and she works in the marketing industry in Minneapolis. My dad works as a mechanic for a manufacturing company in Menomonie.

I don’t have any kids and, unfortunately, no pets at the moment. I do have like 50 plants. (laughs)

What about hobbies? What do you do for fun?

I love any time that I can spend with my friends and family. I have good friends in the area, and a lot of friends in Minneapolis, Duluth, the surrounding areas. So anytime I can go visit them is great. I love to travel.

This year we went to New Orleans and we also went to Moab (Utah) and Colorado Springs. I’m constantly planning trips. Hiking and nature is great, but in the wintertime, you’ll probably find me doing stained glass as a hobby or something like that.

Is there a specific trip you’ve taken that stands out as a favorite?

Oh man, I’ve been really lucky to go on a lot of great trips. It’s something I prioritize. I’d have a hard time pinpointing that.

I do want to visit every National Park in the U.S. That’s a bucket list goal of mine.

A couple of years ago, my sister and I went to Banff, Canada, which is a gorgeous place. Bright blue water, mountains, grizzly bears. We saw a grizzly bear run across the road.

Are you guys big campers?

As long as it’s warm out, yes. (laughs)

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

I feel like I’m kind of an open book. The only thing I can think of is that I’m hypermobile. I’ve dislocated many a joint many a time.

You’re going to have to explain what hypermbobility is to me.

In a nutshell, it’s just being extra bendy in some of your joints. So specifically, my shoulders are what comes out of the socket.

How many times have you dislocated your shoulders?

So many – it’s something that’s just always been there. In the 7th grade, before it became a big problem, I could pop my shoulder out and lick my elbow. I didn’t know what I was doing back then, but now I know.

Fun question time. Do you have a favorite book?

Harry Potter is definitely up there, and Lord of the Rings too.

I would probably go with Where the Red Fern Grows. There’s just something classic and light about it. It’s an easy read.

What about a favorite movie or TV show?

Lord of the Rings. I’ve watched that way too much. It’s embarrassing.

Is there a specific one or just the whole series?

The whole series. Anytime I can watch Andy Serkis do his thing, it’s why I’m here.

Do you have a favorite meal or type of food?

Probably cheese, or pickles, or lasagna. Lasagna is great. That’s hard. I just like food.

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

My current mug is covered in stickers. (holds up) So it’s got a little of everything.

Is there a phrase or anything?

One says “Junior Ranger,” but it’s mostly national park stickers and a cat as a snail. (laughs)

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

Yes, this was before I was pre-press manager. When we got the smart binding system, I got to work closely with Jeremy (Stanek), our old IT manager, Randy Krass, and production, specifically Joe Strauch, on setting up everything for the POD system and making it work as efficiently as possible. We got that machine when it was brand new and we received templates from Japan that just did not match what we wanted to do. We worked as a team from the ground up, making everything better. I look back on that very fondly; it was such a good feeling.