Heather Behm

CTP Operator, Ripon, Wisconsin

I work in the Pre-Press Department as a CTP Operator (I make the plates for the press). I started here the Monday after Thanksgiving in 2017 as a temp in the bindery. I was technically hired even before my contract with the temp agency was fulfilled. In February of 2018 I became an official full-time employee with Ripon Printers as a Production Utility operator. In November of 2019, I transferred to the Pre-Press department doing what I do now and loving it ever since.

I take the supplied files from the customer that are put into the correct order by the prepress team and use our software to send them to the machine that burns the image onto a plate. I get to see what the four separated colors of an image look like before and after it goes on paper.

In my junior and senior years of high school, I participated in a school-to-work apprenticeship program. It was a half-school, half-work day at a local printing company. I had training in all departments from Customer Service to Shipping and everything in between, even housekeeping. Upon graduation, I was able to choose whichever department I wanted to start my printing career. I chose Pre-Press and worked at that company for five years. Due to issues with my schedule, I had to leave there, in tears – I loved my job in the printing industry and found it so very interesting. I took a hiatus from the printing industry for a bit. When I moved to Ripon and found they had a smaller, more family-friendly printing company I knew I wanted to work there. So here I am almost seven years later doing what I love in an industry that has intrigued me since I was a teen.

The coolest part of my job is seeing an image in a 4-color separation and then seeing it when the job is completed.

My personalized coffee mug would say: “Fluent in sarcasm!” I interact with a lot of the pressmen throughout the day so I have to be able to hold my own. It definitely makes the work day go faster being able to joke around.

I want to come to work every day because I know I’m doing something I love and, of course, the people I work with.

A fun fact about me is that I’m an excellent fisher. One of the hobbies my boyfriend and I share is salmon fishing. We have a boat slip out of Sheboygan so in summer we are on the water as much as possible. It’s so exciting when you have a 20-pound fish take the line out 200 more feet. Once, we had all six of our rods go off at the same time. We were able to boat four of them. It took us almost two full hours to get them in and, to much amazement, we didn’t have any tangles.

I have two adult children; Autumn, 27, and Jordyn, 20, as well as a special needs child; Gavin, 17, at home. We are a very tight family and enjoy our get-togethers as often as possible. My daughter celebrated her first wedding anniversary this year so now the whole family is waiting on the first great-great-grandchild so we can get that five-generation picture!

Walsworth has given me the stability I need to provide for my son. I greatly appreciate the flexibility and understanding so I can be there to support him through his medical journey.

I am also a Code Blue Responder through Walsworth, which provides me with medical knowledge if I were to come upon an accident or minor health incident outside of work.

Outside of work, one of my hobbies is photography. I have taken lots of landscape photos and outdoor senior pictures. My obsession is acrylic painting on canvas. My parents and children have all asked for a painting as a gift so they can hang it in their living rooms. I’m also fond of DIY home improvements – in the past, every winter, my boyfriend and I would redo a room in our home. He recently inherited his father’s house and every room needs to be done there. We also do a lot of outdoor activities such as salmon fishing on Lake Michigan, and turkey and deer hunting (although this past year I wasn’t able to get out due to my son’s health). And like most “real Wisconsinites,” I love cheering on the Packers!

I love giving back to my community. I was on a committee to raise funds for an “all-inclusive”, wheelchair-accessible playground and disc golf course for an area park. We raised over $20,000 at the fundraiser and had many other area businesses throughout the county make larger donations. This project was a blessing and very dear to my heart having a son who is wheelchair bound.

My favorite memory of working at Walsworth would have to be when I went from a temp to a full-time employee, or when I won the $850 drawing during the 85th anniversary. It allowed me to travel to Oklahoma to see my older son graduate from Basic Training in the Army National Guard.