2022-03-06 Lowell Buyer's Guide

Just say, “I saw it Advertised in the Buyers Guide” March 6, 2022 • Page

Say "I saw it advertised in the Buyer's Guide and News" • March 6, 2022 - Page 2

Queta Reynolds, commercial print manager

Contact Jon Jacobs [email protected] • 616-897-

BUSINESS

AND

Deadline is noon on Thursdays.

Honor the women in your business

with an ad in our special feature

running each week in March

Advertising Prices
1/8 page - $65.67 • 1/4 page - $120.20 • 1/2 page - $243.30 • full page - $464.
color additional - $50 or full color - $

Mary Adams 10 years

Joan Reynolds 25 years

Jessica Jones 3 years

EXAMPLE

Celebrate the wide range of women’s contributions and achievements that are too often overlooked in the telling of women’s accomplishments in our community. Here is your chance to recognize the women in your organization.

Brought to you by the Lowell Ledger,

the Lowell Buyer’s Guide & News and Lowell Litho

Tammy Janowiak, cruise director

What is your job title and what are you responsible for? Tammy Janowiak, I wear many hats here at the office. I suppose officially I can be called the office manager, but I like to refer to myself as the cruise director. My many jobs include: accounts receivable, organizing ads and content for both the Buyer's Guide and the Lowell Ledger, I am in charge of circulation for the Buyer's Guide and all the carriers, I do some ad building, I help put together the Lowell Ledger and Queta and I build another of our J-Ad Graphics publications out of Marshall.

What is your favorite part of your job and what is the biggest challenge? I guess my favorite part of the job is the building of the papers. I also really like coming to work because of the people I work with. We all get along and do a lot of joking around. I think the biggest challenge is getting everything done when I need to have it done! Another recent challenge has been the struggle to obtain stories and ads for the papers. We want to keep local stories in the papers, but sometimes they are hard to come by. More than once we have come across something that would be a great human interest story, but the person does not want to have a story written about them. So we are always looking for interesting local stories - call us if you have an idea.

How has the newspaper industry changed during your career? I started working here the last week of May, 1992, so this year marks my 30th year here. When I first started we did a lot of darkroom work. We had film in our cameras that we developed here then cut the photos in on ads and in the paper. When we built the papers we stripped in the stories and classified ads and once the paper was completed we made negatives to send down to J-Ad Graphics in Hastings to print. Now everything is done on the computer. We build the paper on the computer, photos are all digital now and just those changes have improved our jobs here. When the paper is done, we send a PDF file down to Hastings to be printed.

Message from CEO Jon Jacobs:

“As publisher, our papers and printing company could not operate

without the dedication of these great individuals.

I am proud to say that we are a family."

What is your job title and what are you responsible for? Queta Reynolds, Commercial Print Manager. I manage Lowell Litho, and in the office I do a little bit of everything, from customer service to pagination.

What is your favorite part of your job and what is the biggest challenge? I enjoy taking my customers ideas and making them into something they will love. Sometimes this can be very challenging, but when a customer says how much they love the final piece it makes it all worth it. There are always challenges, from being competitive in pricing, meeting deadlines and, as of late, getting supplies.

How has the newspaper industry changed during your career? Advertising has really went down due to the internet. And I have seen how the newspapers have taken different directions, from being the local hometown paper, to very political, to trying to get back to a hometown paper. The printing department has had to make some major changes also, as computers and internet have become the normal, it is becoming more and more challenging; people have many more options than just their local print store.

Please describe your personal background, including your hometown, education and previous employment? Grew up in Muir, went to Ionia schools. The job I had before this one was with a trucking company as a billing clerk. I was traveling between Lansing, Grand Rapids and Flint.

Please describe your family, pets, hobbies and any other special likes? I have two sons, both recently married, and one granddaughter, who is my world!! I have a dog, Mac, who is a 176 lb. baby!! I have three cats, plus feed and shelter ferals and strays. I have started quilting, I love to read, I have been remodeling my house and though nothing ever goes right, I enjoy doing it. And I have started camping, even venturing out by myself, and love it.

Who are the people that inspire you? My parents and grandparents. My grandparents started a grocery store from nothing and were very giving to their employees and the community. And my parents, as they have always worked hard, and their love for family.

What is item number one on your bucket list? To travel around Michigan and to see all the lighthouses. Started this journey last summer.

Do you have any advice for other women in your industry? Believe in yourself. I have put myself through some personal challenges the past couple years and have found I am a stronger person than I thought and that I can achieve things I never thought possible.

Please describe your personal background, including your hometown, education and previous employment? I grew up in Grant until my senior year of high school, then my dad decided to move us back to his hometown of Lowell, so I've been in Lowell since

My maiden name is DeYoung and my dad's
family owned DeYoung's Apple Orchard on Bailey
Drive, so there is a lot of older people who know the
DeYoungs. I graduated from Lowell High School in

While I was a senior I started cleaning homes
and offices, I did that for quite a few years, I stopped
cleaning homes when I started here, but continued to
clean offices until 2002. I worked at a dry cleaners and
then I came here!

Please describe your family, pets, hobbies and any other special likes? I've been married for 22 years to Brad and we have a daughter, Calihan, who is an eighth grader at Lowell Middle School, I also have two step-sons, Bill, 40 and Bobby, 37 and two step-grandchildren Izzy, 10 and Eros, 5. Anyone who knows me knows that Brad and I have a huge garden, it is almost a quarter of an acre. With a garden that large, it takes up a lot of our time in the summer. I love to can what we grow as well. I know that canning is a dying art, but I think it is coming back into vogue! I love to cook, I like to just throw a bunch of stuff together and see how it turns out. I used to use my co-workers as guinea pigs for my creations. I love to read, too. Most nights I am in front of the TV reading. My family likes to go camping as well, but my idea of camping is in my camper with air, heat, wi-fi and cable TV! My husband says that is not camping - I disagree. We have a cat named Peo (that is like Leo but with a P. Note: don't let a three- year-old name a kitten) and a rat terrier named Clyde. I refer to him as a Brat Terrier!

Who are the people that inspire you? I really don't have anyone who inspires me.

What is item number one on your bucket list? You know, I really don't have a bucket list.

Do you have any advice for other women in your industry? Newspaper industry is a struggling industry, you just have to keep things local, that is what people want. You also have to try different things, maybe something is not working for your paper, then you have to try something else. Sooner or later you are going to find what works for your area.