A few months ago, during a discussion of various things with Lisa Krueger, our Design Editor, the conversation turned to the printing of the Bulletin . She suggested that I visit the printers and take a look at exactly how the Bulletin is prepared. As I am always interested to learn something about which I know virtually nothing, I jumped at the opportunity.
This month, I’d like to share a bit about the company and people responsible for taking the digits that we provide and transforming them into the Bulletin that we look forward to receiving early each month. Prime Source Office Solutions, located just east of I-45, north of the intersection of I-45 and I-10, was formed in 1987. It occupies a relatively modest building and provides a variety of printingand office-related services. Prime Source has been printing the HGS Bulletin since 2002. During my tour of the shop, I had the opportunity to meet three very special people and witness the printing press in operation while it was printing the coming month’s Bulletin.
Kendra Williams, the President of Prime Source, joined the company about 25 years ago and has seen it grow by acquisition, merging in over 30 businesses over the years. Her original career was as a teacher, using her degrees in Math and English from Texas A&M. According to Kendra, she quickly realized that teaching wasn’t for her and she switched careers, working for 15 years as a Pension Actuary with clients and building retirement plans prior to joining Prime Source. She takes a great deal of pride in owning and running a company that is “large enough to tackle almost anything and small enough to still give personal service in a highly competitive environment.”
Bill Aveck, the Print Shop Manager, attended high school at Houston Technical Institute to learn a trade. Not knowing what course to take, he “just closed my eyes and put my finger on PRINTING.” He graduated in 1979, top in his printing class, and then worked for mostly small printing companies until 1990 when he and his wife and opened their own printing company, BB&R Printing. After about 3 years of hard work and long hours, they merged with Prime Source, and after 21 years, he reports that he is “still printing and having fun. “ Tim Wright, the Large Press Operator (prints the Bulletin) started out in the family printing business with his father. According to Tim “I have enjoyed a 48-year career in the printing industry. In 2006, we sold our company to Prime Source and I have been employed by them ever since. It’s nice to still feel like I’m working for a family business. From pre-press, press room and bindery, I have learned many aspects of the printing process, but find that I still learn something new almost every week.” Of geological interest, Tim uses a hand lens to check the alignment on the prints.
In his October column Ken mentioned that one of the characteristics of geologists was passion for their science. I think that we also appreciate passion in any profession. The passion of the team at Prime Source is impressive. The commitment and passion for their profession that I witnessed when they were answering my questions and showing me around their shop left me with a very strong positive impression. I’d like to thank all of them for this. It is a real pleasure to meet people doing what they love, doing it well, and having fun in the process. Of course, after printing, the Bulletin still has to be bound and shipped. I hope to be able to see these operations in the future and am looking forward to sharing the experience. Until next month...Take care.