A decade in publishing... 1999-2009

It's still amazing for me to believe that yesterday marked the decade anniversary for me at Harrisburg Magazine, which is now also called Benchmark Group Media. In some ways it feels like that time has really gone by in the blink of an eye and in others it feels like a lifetime ago since I started as a skinny, curly haired graphic designer. Now I've bulked up a bit, lost the curly hair and learned a lot of lessons, some good, some bad. To think in the time I've worked there I started as a graphic designer where I'd help with ads and have to get them approved through the art director, then on to promo materials and anything else the boss would throw my way. As the company grew, I became a production manager, which basically meant that I got control of the ads and either delegated or saw the designs of them through to completion. That also meant making sure the files for the magazine, including edit, were postscripted and sent off to the printer on time. Back when I started as production manager, that also meant working a lot of long hours until the middle of the night and still having to do the whole thing all over again the next day. Very tiring, but it makes me appreciate how streamlined the process of proofing and supplying the files to our printer has become over the years. Now I'm a graphic/production director, which basically means the same thing as before, only I'm also the publisher's right hand guy in design aspects of the magazine and being given a more creative insight into visuals for the magazine. Like any job, there are some days that it's a grind to accomplish anything and then there are days that remind me how fun and how different working at the magazine can be compared to other jobs out there. All in all, I'm proud of my decade at the magazine and it's still fun to see peoples' jaws drop when I tell someone about my longevity in my field. Wow, how time flies!