Chris announced to the membership last month that she is retiring from NPAworldwide at the end of April after 48 years of service. I recently called her and asked her to share some memories so I could capture a bit of history before she rides off into the sunset. I planned to ask Chris 10 or so questions, but our conversation evolved into so much more than I anticipated. Let me tell you, Chris is a treasure trove of NPAworldwide historical knowledge.
Chris’ professional career didn’t begin with NPA. For the first five years of her career, she was a quality inspector for an engraving company that used hand-fed printing presses to create stationery and other fine paper products. This was a family-owned printing company, and when the owner’s younger daughter came of age, Chris knew her time with them was over. She was fired and said it was probably the best thing that ever happened to her!
She took a year off from work (the only break in her career). When it came time for her to look for a new position, she perused the classified ads in her local newspaper and came across an ad for an entry-level position with a distribution center. This was a start-up printing and distribution facility moving into Grand Rapids.
This startup company was owned by NPA (then known as National Personnel Associates). The co-op had grown so much, consistently printing and distributing a high volume of documents, that good business sense dictated terminating the contract with an outside printing service located in Pittsburgh, PA and purchasing and running our own printing presses and sorting system. As luck would have it, a study was conducted on the best location to place such a distribution center, and the answer was Grand Rapids, MI. Two printing presses were purchased and housed in the basement of the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce.
Chuck Marks, our Executive Vice President at the time, hired Chris in 1976. Chris reported to the Print Shop Foreman, Don Person. By the way, before she was offered the position, Don confided to Chuck he wasn’t too sure about hiring Chris since she had been fired from her previous role. Chuck required a second interview with Chris, which was unheard of for an entry-level role. Chuck saw something in her and believed in her, and she eventually won Don over, too. Many people didn’t think the distribution center would be successful, but the team was determined to make it work, and it thrived!
Some of us remember what technology existed in 1976. Let’s take a trip down memory lane.
In the late 70s and 80s, computers were not a mainstay in every office. That didn’t become a reality until the late 80s and early 90s. I know I’m oversimplifying this process, but NPA staff shared printed paper records with members, sent daily by “snail mail” using the US Postal Service. The distribution center printed candidate resumes and job forms daily, printing multiple copies to share with our members in the various USA regions (we weren’t global until much later). All of these records were sorted by member and region and actually bound into individual books for the members. Chris mentioned that someone in the Distribution Center (she couldn’t recall who) heard about a “Super Sorter” the Navy used. This Super Sorter automated the sorting process so that sorting by hand could be eliminated and also prove more efficient overall. It was decided that would be a good addition to the Distribution Center. But, I digress. At the end of the day, the team would pull all of the day’s printings from the sorted bins, put them in giant mail bags, and haul them to the post office. EVERY DAY. Chris said the first year was very exciting because they were breaking all kinds of records for the amount of impressions (pages printed) they were making. (Over 100,000 impressions a month.) After a year, that job became mundane for Chris, so she told Chuck she would look for another job. Chuck asked her to stay and created a supervisor role in his office. Later, Chuck offered her an accounting role with bookkeeping responsibilities. She enjoyed that role, too, especially when her reconciliations balanced to the penny.
In the late 1980s, NPA member and then President of the Board (now known as Chairman) Dave Small, declared NPA office staff should have a desktop computer on every desk. Dave was a technology visionary and knew the impact computers would have on our business. He understood we’d need the internet to link us all together to work efficiently. She said, “I guess Dave thought I was smart enough to manage this project. That’s how my work in technology began. It wasn’t long before we gained access to internet service, providing an instant connection with our members. We began developing sharing platforms. Tech wasn’t what I set out to do, and I have no formal education, but I loved it!”
When Dave Nerz came on board, we had two in-house developers on staff, but we began looking at a way to outsource this work. We started investigating providers to develop our sharing tool and back office systems. Chris has managed all technology projects since our move to the digital age. This includes FileMaker Pro/Lynx, PCRecruiter integration, SplitZone 1, SplitZone 2, Matchmaker, and NPAmarketplace. She has also managed our Job Board and a key cog in the configuration of the MemberNova (NPA Central) platform. At one point, she pulled double duty by also being our Director of Training.
Chris marvels at how much more staff is doing for an ever-growing and now global membership, but with fewer people than ever before. Staff have shrunk from a high of 20 employees to the current number of 8. Chris said, “I think the story of NPAworldwide is fascinating, and members should hear how we started and how we’ve evolved. As a group, we’ve always had the drive to deliver quality, state-of-the-art services to our members.”
Chris has no particular “bucket list items” but is looking forward to working on projects around her home and simply enjoying her time there. She’s never been able to do that in all these years, so for her, that will be an indulgent luxury. She’s looking forward to the simple things, like learning what time the mail is delivered and what else goes in the neighborhood during the workday. She’s considering becoming a volunteer with her local humane society, although she admits that if she does that, she’ll probably add to her pet count at home. Creating art has been a lifelong passion for her, so she’s looking forward to more time for that.
As for how she’d like to be remembered, she simply said, “Nicely, I hope. For the most part, I’ve been “behind the scenes” all these years, except when I was the Director of Training. Being in the background was fitting for me because I have such an analytical mind. I don’t consider myself a social butterfly, but I always enjoyed the opportunity to attend our conferences and see our members in person.”
Chris, on behalf of all our members at NPAworldwide, we wish you a fond farewell. We hope you enjoy your future with lots of time to enjoy your hobbies, friends, and family as much as we've enjoyed having you these past 48 years!
Congratulations on your retirement and all the incredible years of work you put into getting there.