Bookmasters Attends Guadalajara International
Book Fair ...........................................................

Bookmasters’ international presence continues to grow as we sent representatives to the 25th Guadalajara International Book Fair held November 26 through December 4 in Guadalajara, Mexico. This is the largest Spanish language book fair in the world, and our new Spanish language division was well-represented with a booth showcasing many of the services and products we offer. The Guadalajara fair is the second largest book fair in the world after the Frankfurt Book Fair, which Bookmasters also attended in October.

Larry Bennett, President of Distribution Services, and Ernesto Martínez, Manager of Spanish Language Products and Programs, attended the fair and represented Bookmasters in the booth. They said that the show was enormous. “Like two halls at the Frankfurt Book Fair,” Larry reported.

“Our booth looks good, and our printed samples look great,” he said. “We’ve had lots of appointments. This is the best show I’ve ever attended.”

At the time of this writing, the show is still going on, so attendance figures are not yet available. However, 2010’s Book Fair hosted 1,928 publishing houses, 17,790 book professionals, and more than 600,000 public visitors to the show.

 

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On the night of November 17, we were informed that some books urgently needed for the Miami Book Fair were missing. The Fair was opening on November 19. The next morning, November 18, we placed the orders into production. The books were manufactured, but they just missed the FedEx afternoon pick-up. Keith Bender had already left for the day, but when he called the plant from home, he discovered the books were still here.

Keith realized that he had 1¼ hours to get from his home to Bookmasters, pick up the books, and drive them to the FedEx depot at the airport in time to catch the last plane out that night. Keith and his wife drove to the plant, picked up the box, and hightailed it to the airport. Luck was with them, and they got to the airport with 5 minutes to spare.

However, once at the airport, Keith realized that the FedEx depot was nowhere in sight. Just then, Keith’s wife pointed at a passing FedEx truck. They followed the truck to the FedEx depot, and made it with less than a minute to spare. The books were delivered to our customer in Miami the following morning at 8:47 a.m. in time for the opening of the Fair.

Keith came through as a shining example of how seriously we take customer service here at Bookmasters!

Final Soup Kitchen of 2011 ........................................

The final Soup Kitchen of 2011 was held November 18. For the last one of the year, we held a “true” soup kitchen, with employees bringing their favorite soups, stews, and chilis. Donations from this last soup kitchen will be used to buy Christmas presents for children in need this holiday season. We are also still collecting coats and nonperishable food items in the breakrooms to give to the families and children in need. Thank you all for your wonderful recipes and charitable giving in 2011 as well as the Charity Committee for all your much-appreciated help!

Welcome New Hires! ................................................

Lori Bond A/R Specialist We welcome Lori who comes to Bookmasters from Romanelli & Hughes Bldg. Co. in Westerville where she worked in accounts payable. She grew up in Reynoldsburg where she attended Reynoldsburg High School and Eastland Vocational School. She later lived in Gahanna for 30 years before moving to Ashland in 2009. Lori has two sons, Jason, 32, and Matthew, 27; one daughter, Megan, 24; and one granddaughter, Jessel, 11. In her spare time, Lori loves to cook and bake, cross stitch, and read. Welcome Lori!

Karissa Gipson Bindery Karissa previously worked at GameStop as a game advisor before coming to work for Bookmasters. She grew up in New London and attended Mapleton High School. She graduated from Otterbein in 2011 with a degree in middle childhood education with math and language arts concentrations. Her mother, Colleen Gipson, also works at Bookmasters. In her spare time, Karissa enjoys reading, playing videogames, and drumming. Welcome Karissa!

Stephanie Cholley Sales Coordinator We welcome Stephanie who comes to Bookmasters from Starlight Antiques in Millersburg where she worked as a sales associate for 8 years. Stephanie has lived in Wooster since she was born, and she attended Trinity High School and The College of Wooster. She is now engaged to Matt Marmet, and in her spare time she enjoys writing and volunteering at The Wayne County Humane Society. Welcome Stephanie!

Beth Wise Bindery Beth previously worked at C.E. White Co. for 11 years before coming to Bookmasters. She grew up in Berlin Heights and attended Edison High School in Milan. She has lived in Shelby for 13 years with her husband, Stephen, and children Spencer, 17, and Kayley, 15. Beth enjoys spending time with her family and friends, scrapbooking, and attending her children’s sporting events. She also loves watching football, especially the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. is her favorite NASCAR driver. Welcome Beth!

Two members of our Marketing department recently spent some time sharpening their Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 skills. Scott Denman, Web Marketing Manager, and Maryann Myers, Media Design Specialist, attended a day-long training session on November 15 in Columbus titled “The Conference for Adobe Creative Suite Users.”

This seminar was divided into two paths: Print Design and Web Design and Development. Scott attended the web design path, learning more on Adobe products such as Dreamweaver, Illustrator, and Flash. “The presentations were very informative and well organized,” Scott said.

Maryann attended the print design path, which dealt with InDesign, Photoshop, and Bridge, as well as other Adobe programs. “I was surprised at the amount of information that was presented,” Maryann said. “I’m anxious to take the new skills that I have learned and apply them to my daily projects.”

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Birthdays	Anniversaries
01 Erin Peden 02 Bridget Massie 10 Deb Keets 15 Cheryl Householder 16 Mary Barnes 16 Nancy Brown 17 Mary Wolford 20 Ray Smith 21 John Edwards 21 Cody Harbaugh 22 Janet McAlexander 25 Mike Elliott, Jr. 25 Holly Fullmer 27 Dwayne Brown 28 Tony Proe 31 Mark Levine	Tiffany Koster 2 Yrs. Pam Ramsier 1 Yr. Braden Sanders 3 Yrs. Jason Seidel 1 Yr. Carol Stewart 19 Yrs. Randy Strine 3 Yrs. Pam Tester 19 Yrs. Tom Thorburn 7 Yrs.