Kim Zahner

Good morning Kim! To start your Q&A, can you let us know how long you have been with Walsworth and how it came about?

As of Jan. 25, I will have been with Walsworth 34 years.

I started right out of high school basically because I didn’t really have the means to go to  college right then. I had family members who worked here, and they helped me get my foot in the door.

Can you walk us through some of the different roles you’ve had here over the years?

I started in this plant (Brookfield) in Typing, and then I moved into a research and development position, this was where development of direct to film for the company took place.

From there, I moved into Commercial Prep to a Preflight position. I tested customer files from programs: PageMaker, InDesign, and so on. Eventually I moved into Commercial Computer Support, where I stayed for quite a while.

In 2001 I was promoted to Commercial Electronic Support Supervisor. I have spent most of my career on the commercial side of the business.  Since 2022, I’ve been the Yearbook Pre-Press Production Manager.

You were doing some international work too, right?

Yes, I helped support our international yearbook accounts for many years. We had customized yearbook kits for these accounts that I would work with the Kit Department to pack/ship the specific material.  I traveled to Leysin, Switzerland, and London, England, to provide training at the yearbook workshops. It was a lot of fun.

Can you walk us through, or outline for us, the specific duties you do as the Pre-Press Production Manager?

Sure. I have three supervisors who report to me – Desktop, Proofreading and Receiving areas, and our Cover department, which includes Prep, Art  and Creative Services.

Desktop manages the files supplied by our InDesign schools. They prep the portraits, generate index files and proof PDF pages to our schools.  All UV pages and specialty items like tips and foldouts are handled by them too.

The Receiving and Proofreading areas work with Online Design submissions. They each play an important role – the Receiving area handles expediting, color correcting, art packages, disk checks and creating school ads, while the Proofreading area approves all Online Design pages for final print.

The Cover department is a city of its own. This group handles a huge amount of work, and their creativity and designs are award winning. The Prep area handles the front-end work to make sure everything is workable and can be processed, while the art and creative services departments design the covers and help bring the schools’ vision to life.

Along with these production areas, I also manage the Kit Department. I’ve learned so much about what goes on in Kit and the support they provide – everything from packing and shipping the annual Planning Kit to thousands of schools across the country, burning iTags and packing option orders, plus convention support and many other items to support our schools and our company.

Through 34 years, you’ve seen the company grow and evolve quite a bit. What changes stick out to you?

I think it’s the innovation. You see it in the South plant (Marceline plant), and we see it here in Brookfield too, but on the software side of things. You see it with new equipment, the tools we invest in and the tools we create to make our jobs more efficient.

We’ve built more efficient ways to do our jobs, which helps both our customers and the company. In Proofreading specifically, last year we installed a Whiteboard dashboard that streamlined our processes and paperwork, and everything became much more efficient. And it showed in our numbers.

Can you tell us about your family?

I grew up in Marceline and am from a family of five girls. My mother and I are the only ones who still live in Linn county. The rest of my sisters are kind of spread out – the Kansas City area, South Missouri, Oklahoma and one is up north closer to Iowa.

I’ve been married to my husband Greg for 32 years, and we have one son, Garrett. We all live in Brookfield. Garrett is 29 and married to Nicole and they have two boys, our sweet grandsons Granger and Riley.

Did you grow up in Brookfield or Marceline?

Marceline. Look, I wore my Tiger attire for the Bell Game.

Even though I live in Brookfield now, I grew up in Marceline.

So who do you root for in the Bell Game?

Well tonight I’ll be rooting for Marceline.

Until my grandkids get into sports, I’ll be rooting for Marceline. (laughs)

What about hobbies outside of work?

Well, I’m a big outdoors person. I love walking. I like to hike. I love getting out in nature, and I love flowers. I do my own landscaping.

We go to the pool and the lake a lot.

What do you during the winter?

Hibernate. (laughs)

But I do almost feel like I just rest and I can reset myself. I’m go, go, go from spring through fall.

And you do quite a bit with your grandkids.

Yes, I always thought I was busy before, but I’m so busy now with them.

My kids are actually building a house down the road from us right now, and they’re living with us. It is a crazy busy time, and I’m so glad they’re going to be close by.

Do you guys do much travel? Have a favorite vacation spot?

My husband doesn’t like to travel much, so I kind of do most of my travel with my sisters and friends.

Last August we celebrated our son and new daughter-in-law’s wedding in the Dominican, it was beautiful!

One of my favorite trips was about seven years ago when I went to Cabo with my sister and our girlfriends from high school. It was a seven-day trip, and it was the best trip ever. So much fun.

What’s maybe one thing about you most people don’t know?

I don’t really like to be the center of attention. I cried when I found out a surprise 50^th Birthday party was planned. Laurie Cupp witnessed that moment when the beans were spilled about my party.

Something else – I like to bake. I made my sister’s wedding cake and made cupcakes for a friend’s wedding. I am 2 for 2 making my first grandson’s birthday cakes.

Beyond baking, do you like to cook in general? Do you have a favorite meal you’ve cooked?

I like Italian food.

Do you have an Italian specialty?

Of course it’s spaghetti. (laughs)

I like to doctor it up with a lot of extra stuff and make it up as I go.

Are you one of those people who has to follow a recipe or someone who can just throw everything in and it tastes good?

I can throw stuff together, but I do have some great recipes too.

Are you much of a reader? Do you have a favorite book?

I like a quick read, like magazines.

What about a favorite movie or TV show?

I love feel good movies like The Notebook. P.S., I Love You, and so on. Nicholas Sparks movies are probably some of my favorites.

And I also love funny stuff like Step Brothers, but I don’t like violence or scary movies.

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

Mimi. And I do have one (holds it up).

As someone who grew up in Marceline, can you explain what the company means to the community?

Walsworth is a staple of our community. Thirty-three years ago, look where I turned. In my mind, this was the place to be.

The company makes you feel welcome, they want to provide the community with jobs. I feel they provide stability for their employees. My career path here has been great. I had the drive, but Walsworth also made it all possible. They’ve invested in me and in so many.

Walsworth invests so much in our communities. I’m proud to work here.

When you reflect back on your time at Walsworth so far, do you have a favorite memory or accomplishment?

There’s so many. I’ve got funny ones. I have sad ones.

In the past few years, the company has changed quite a bit due to retirements, new people, new equipment and so on. I have so many good memories with a lot of the retirees that I worked with. People like Jim Mead, who just stopped by to say goodbye.

I recently went on a trip to South Carolina for Milliken training, and I was the oldest one in our Walsworth group. I was the one driving and sort of guiding others around, showing them the way. I never thought that would be me, but that is how long I’ve been here. It’s my turn now to help bring up the next group of employees.