Manager Profile - The Joy Of Printing

Through hard work , Joy Heishman excels in a field she loves. Now, her effort goes towards hosting the ACUP conference.

by JOE RANOIA

HARD WORK pays off. That's what we're taught as children. The current president of the Association of College and University Printers (ACUP), Joy Heishman believes it—at least in her case.

When Heishman started out as a delivery person and bindery worker for Wright State University's Printing Services in Dayton, Oh., she never imagined she would some day become the director of the whole department. At the time, she had no background in printing at all. She'd been a bookkeeper and took the entry-level position so that she might work her way into university administration. Little did she know where her hard work would take her.

Heishman was born and raised in Fairborn Ohio, just outside of Dayton. She took several business courses in high school, and after graduation, attended business school. Then, Heishman took a job as a bookkeeper for a popular restaurant in the area.

Eventually, she married, and moved to her husband's home state of Pennsylvania. There, she had a son, Wayne. Heishman gave up work to raise Wayne full time. Unfortunately, the marriage didn't work out, and after a divorce, Joy and her son moved back to Fairborn.

Heishman arrived back in Ohio with a child to support and no job. She began looking for work, and ended up at WSU. "My goal was to get a job with a decent wage and benefits," she states. "I needed to support my son."

Although she had no background in printing, WSU hired her to work delivery and binding in their printing department. It was an opportunity that would change Heishman's life.

"Within two years the production clerk left for a better job," she recalls. "No one applied for the job, but the director, Paul Grenzebach, asked me if I would like to try doing the job. I have been in a continual training mode ever since."

Through the years, Heishman became more and more accomplished in the printing industry. She joined the International Publishing Management Association (IPMA) in 1980, and in 1989 she became an IPMA Certified Graphics Communications Manager (CGCM). Gradually, Heishman's work ethic and ability to complete projects won her promotion after promotion until five years ago when she became the director of printing services. "I had the lowest-paying job in the place, and now I have the highest. That doesn't happen every day," she remarks.

As director, Heishman went about finding a way to take care of the staff that worked so hard beside her. She felt they were underpaid and under-appreciated. When employees left for greener pastures, Heishman found it hard to bring qualified workers in to replace them because the wages they made didn't compare with those of commercial printers.

Heishman took action. "I believe my biggest success since becoming the director was getting Human Relations to review the job responsibilities of my staff and getting them upgraded in both administration and technical positions," she reports. All positions, except for hers, were upgraded and rewarded raises. This boosted morale for the current employees, and made the in-plant more attractive to new workers. "We can now fill positions with qualified, skilled people," she claims.

Two years ago, the in-plant moved to a new, 8.540-square-foot facility. It is a total-recovery operation that runs on a budget of over $3.5 million. The in-plant employs 23 full-time workers and 30 students, including one high school graphic arts student. The in-plant performs a host of tasks for the university including composition, offset printing, bindery, high-speed digital copying, convenience copying, class notes (course packs) and copyright acquisition, general forms distribution, etc. To aid in the growing list responsibilities, Heishman plans to add a two-color 171⁄2"x221⁄2" or larger press this fiscal year.

The in-plant has many responsibilities to the university that Heishman takes very seriously. "I think any in-plant's biggest challenge is to earn and keep the respect of its clients and to be perceived as value added to their company or school," she comments. "You can't be perfect, but we try to give our clients what they want when they want it...We feel we take care of our clients materials support needs so they can devote their time to their core responsibility—educating students." This philosophy is reflected in her in-plant's slogan; "Service is our business."

Now, Heishman and her staff are in preparation for the ACUP conference. Heishman, a10 year member of ACUP, volunteered to host it this year because she sees the value in the organization, and wants to help. "Since I have hosted smaller conferences, I knew I would have a good time doing it," she explains. "The organization is so rewarding to me, for the relationship with my peers, that I wanted to give something back to them through volunteerism."

Heishman plans on continuing to volunteer her time to worthy causes in the future. When she retires, she plans to donate her time to worthy causes, like aiding the homeless, so she may give something back to the community.

Still a resident of Fairborn, Heishman enjoys spending what little spare time she has traveling with Craig, her husband of 24 years, and spending time with her 13-year-old grandson, Wayne Jr., who she describes as very handsome and intelligent. "He must take after his grandmother," she jokes.

For Heishman, the road to success started at the most entry-level position, and through her hard work, she's not only made it to the top, but discovered a career she truly loves. "Wright State is the best thing that ever happened to me," she declares. "I know I work hard, and I know it pays off."