THE FINAL PROOF
employee newsletter for AGS, AGI, and Maryland Comp. Volume 1 • Issue 9 • October 2011
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Welcome to the team! Birthdays John Allem
VP of Operations, AGS Previously - Operations Manager at AGI
Jason Deron
Sales Rep, AGS Previously - VP of Sales at SGT
October 4
Randal Harris
October 7
Jenn Winkowski
October 8
Greg Carlucci
October 10
Patrick Bulla
October 16
Annette Landau
October 20
Denise Cooksey Mike Akers
October 22 October 31
Anniversaries
Otto Jones
Sales Rep, AGS Previously - Key Account Executive at Mailsouth
Barbara Randles
Margaret Quade
Sales Rep, AGS Previously - Branch Account Manager for CitiFinancial
Denise Cooksey
17 years
Robert Poole
23 years
Tommy Rison
13 years
Cindy Rohrabaugh
8 years
Marv Dunkiel
Sales Rep, AGS Previously - Sales Director at Vanguard Printing LLC
Congratulations! Allison Yates, CSR Married Jon Yates on July 2, 2011
Scan with any smart phone to watch the latest AGS video! John Woodland, Press Room & Barbara Washington, Bindery are engaged! The big day will be September 15th, 2012
Cindy Davis, Accounting has a new grandson! Riley Wayne Davis Born 8/3/11 9lbs 3oz, 21” long Riley’s 1st Redskins Game
Ken Cratty, Variable Programmer has a new Grandson! Benjamin Thomas Conrow 8lb 9oz Born Aug 29th
AGS Company Picnic WHEN: October 22,2011 TIME:1:00pm-5:00pm WHERE: Gilbert Run Park, Amphitheater Pavilion Get ready for AGS family fun, with a DJ, face painting, games, activities for the kids and a Halloween/Fall dessert contest! Please notify Brenda Keesee what dessert you plan to bring if you plan to participate in the dessert contest.
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celebrate October 2011
Haunted Houses in MD Point Lookout State Park, St. Mary’s
Point Lookout State Park, St. Mary’s- A former Civil War prison camp, is said to be haunted by a woman who is looking for a grave and asks the living to help her find her final resting place. It is rumored that a general also haunts the fort proper. People have said not only have they’ve seen the general but they’ve also heard his faint whispers.
Hell House, Howard County
Halloween
The house once a college for girls has been said to have housed nuns who participated in Satanism. Because of their practice the nuns were mysteriously murdered one by one. The girls haunt the building with chilling screams and at the top of the stairs there is said to be a cold spot.
Monday
Hance Home, Calvert County
For special Halloween family fun
Paranormal experts go to the Hance Home to witness a blood stain which appears every year on the anniversary of the person who was murdered in the kitchen.
October 31st
activities and recipes visit familyfun.go.com/halloween
Governor’s Bridge, Anne Arundel County
The story goes, a young unmarried teen afraid to tell her parents she had a baby, threw her baby over the edge of the Governor Bridge to it’s death and after realizing what she had done decided to take her own life and jumped off the bridge as well. It is said the young girl haunts the area while she stands in the middle of the bridge scaring drivers.
relax
Written by Sara Valcarcel All information retrieved from www.realhaunts.com
Caramel Corn Recipe DIRECTIONS INGREDIENTS • 2 bags microwave popcorn • 1/2 cup butter • 1 cup light brown sugar • 2 Tbsp. light corn syrup • 1/4 tsp. baking soda • 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1. Set Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Generously spray a large (15 x 10) roasting pan with nonstick cooking spray. 2. Pop popcorn Pop popcorn according to package directions. Pour into prepared pan. Pick through popcorn to remove any unpopped kernels. 3. Heat butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in sugar and corn syrup. Bring to a gentle boil, letting mixture cook 5 minutes. 4. Remove from heat. Stir in baking soda and vanilla. Pour over popcorn, tossing gently to coat all the popcorn pieces with the caramel. Spread caramel corn out in the pan in an even layer. 5. Bake1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. 6. Serve caramel corn immediately or transfer to an airtight container. Caramel corn will keep fresh for three days.
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employee spotlight
KIZZIE KEYS
When did you start working for AGS? December 4, 2006 What was your first job title and what is your current job title? Machine Bindery Helper at first. Now - Machine Bindery Helper, FedEx, Hand Bindery Helper, and Backup - Inkjet Operator, Mailroom Helper What is your favorite activity to do in your free time? Sleeping What is your favorite food? fried chicken and ranch wings What was your favorite vacation or one that you are looking forward on taking? My favorite vacation was taking my son to Florida. Next year I’m looking forward to taking a vacation to Disney. What advice would you give someone just starting out at AGS? Be on time!! We work as a team and sometimes it’s a lot of hard work. What is a fun fact about yourself? I love eating my ice! Is there anything else you would like to share? I’m in the Maryland Army National Guard currently. I served so far 14 years, working on my 20 years.
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meet our client (AOTA) The American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc. Sales Rep, Chris Garbe CSR, Diane Mc Clure Since 1917, AOTA has educated the public and made an effort to advance the quality, availability, use, and support of occupational therapy through standard setting, advocacy, education and research on behalf of its members and the public. With nearly 42,000 members, AOTA’s major programs and activities are directed toward assuring the quality of occupational therapy services, improving consumer access to health care services, and promoting the professional development of members. As a client for the past 10 years, the Sales team has worked to strengthen the relationship with AOTA, and seen a steady increase in composition work thru Maryland Comp and book work with AGS over the past 3 years. – Written by Dustin Crowther, content derived from http://www.aota.org.
Compliments from AOTA! “First, I have to say, I’ve been in publishing for a little more than 20 years, and I can honestly say that these are some of the cleanest pages I’ve ever seen, esp given how sloppily and heavily the first-round pages were. Maybe I’m jaded because at SAGE we were working with an Indian compositor and while the page rates were next to nothing, sometimes second-round pages came back worse than the first round, I kid you not! I’m guessing there are no more than about 50 pages total that require changes, and the majority of them are extemely minor. There are only a few exceptions (mainly the Contributors list, as most contributors made changes to their contact info). Kudos to you and your team!” – Steve Pazdan, Project Manager working on the AOTA Cognition book
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CURRENT EVENTS
Print Isn’t Dead. written by EmmA Benward
Do I have your attention, now? But wait! What about those newspapers going out of business? What about the Borders liquidation? What about the printers who are struggling to stay afloat in a sea of red balance sheets? What about the decreasing interest in traditional media like magazines, newspapers, and books?
etc.—humans are sensual creatures. We like texture. We like contrast. We like touch, smell, and visually interesting stuff. We like cool packages that fold into neat things. We like seeing art in glossy magazines. And many of us still like having something tangible to hold while we’re reading a newspaper or sorting our mail. This is great for print.
Those things are all true, of course, but they’re not the pallbearers of print. The Media has an amusing proclivity for heralding its own death—which has led us to believe as a nation that we’re moving toward a future without any print. But in these sermons of impending doom we’re leaving out an important observation: print is not dying. It’s evolving.
Need proof? In a 2010 study by FGI research, a consumer survey showed that 74% of people would prefer not to see digital media replace print. 33% of those surveyed said they relied most often on print media for information, 28% said they used digital media more often, and 39% claimed an equal usage for both. USPS claims in its most recent study that direct mail is still the leader in direct marketing and going strong. And an Ipsos Mendelsohn study showed that among affluent Americans aged 18 – 34, 88% read hard copy magazines, 70% read hard copy newspapers, 35% and 54% respectively rely on the digital versions.
I can’t deny that the digital age has thoroughly disrupted our traditional print mediums. More people are switching to online news, buying Kindles, or downloading magazines. We want immediate access to the content we like and it’s impacting the way we consume news and entertainment. But in the middle of all the newspapers crying “Fire!” and the retail book industry’s panicked reformation, we are still seeing incredible opportunities in digital print, cross media, and direct mail marketing. Despite our attachments—to our computers, smartphones, iPads, Kindles,
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We are definitely facing a paradigm shift in the way we market, consume entertainment, and share information—but that isn’t a death sentence for print. In fact, it’s full of exciting opportunities for us as we step forward and become “solutions providers” instead of “just printers”.
Make this year better than last!
4 secrets to making your morning stress free...
before. This will help limit the tasks you have to complete each and every morning. 2 - Have a “homework time.” This planned time will help keep your child organized and goal oriented. Also, it hopefully helps the child to feel less pressure as they prepare for a long day at school. 3 - Create an area near the front door of your house where your child can place their backpack, shoes,
Crystal Dirolf’s daugther Lexi, 8 years old
Angela White’s son Josh, 1st Grade
Cheryl Jonelis’ daughter Kadence, 5th Grade
Cheryl Jonelis’ son Seneca, 9th Grade
and jacket. This area will keep everything your child needs in one area so you aren’t franticly looking for items your child needs. 4 - Always store “easy” breakfast items in your house like yogurt and granola, waffles, fresh fruit, bagels, etc. This will help give you peace of mind that your child has had a healthy breakfast.
What do you do...
while your kids are away at school? Tommy Brown: volunteer at the library Kenny Brown: cook, clean, and wash clothes Robert Keesee: hunting, fishing, and golfing David Farr: mountain bike and run John Polczynski: collect music (classic rock) Joe Maccherone: Go to Vegas and play poker all day
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EMPLOYEE FUN
1 - Prepare your child’s school lunch the night
katie’s corner
message from the president As you’ve noticed there is lots going on here @ AGS. Constantly. It has always been that way and we’re getting back to our roots of getting things done. I appreciate everyone’s patience as we work through the inevitable new challenges this presents. As you all know, AGS was always a cutting-edge printing company – from our initial start-up as a typesetting company to the addition of presses and then digital presses to the launch of CD services and then internet services…the list goes on and on. One thing that has remained constant in that picture is our people.
I am sure you’ve noticed that going up around the plant are photos of our team members. This monthly newsletter features photos of our team members. Our website will eventually also feature our team members. I believe strongly that it is your willingness daily to go above and beyond that makes AGS a phenomenal company. So – I wanted what we produce to feature our best assets, our people.
AGS logo sneak peak...
AGS Welcomes a New Vision, New Leadership and a New Logo Check out next month’s issue for full details...
THE FINAL PROOF Editor: Sara Valcarcel Photographer: Dustin Crowther Layout: Jenn Winkowski and Christina Hensch If you would like to contribute to The Final Proof in anyway, please e-mail Sara Valcarcel at svalcarcel@ags.com
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