Home Is Where the Hammer Hits —Cagle

SAY WHAT you will about how these times are a-changing for the worse. Environmental and social consciousness seems to be at an all-time high. . .perhaps because our planet and its inhabitants are in such rough shape. So maybe the opening statement is true.

The Green Scene, one of our newest departments, documents the efforts of printers and suppliers to implement initiatives that conserve resources and unburden the environment. It has quickly become the most popular subject of press releases that we currently receive.

Coming in a close second is the philanthropic efforts of our industry amigos. In case you missed it, we ran a great story on page 94 of the December 2007 issue titled “The Gift of Giving,” which chronicled some of the many charitable acts and programs that benefit local communities, as well as needy folks the world over.

The stories keep streaming in. At the conclusion of the Digital Solutions Cooperative (Dscoop)—the HP users group—conference in San Diego, several members participated in Corazón’s “Build a House in a Day” construction project.

A group of HP customers, executives and partners traveled to Tecate, Mexico, to build homes for impoverished families under the guidance of Corazón’s leaders. Dscoop attendees worked alongside families in the Corazón project to build new homes from breaking ground to completion in one day.

Established in 1978 as an all- volunteer relief organization, Corazón began constructing complete homes in 1995. Since then, 30,000-plus U.S. volunteers have completed more than 950 projects.

“The project brought the Dscoop conference attendees together to make a difference in Tecate and in the lives of the families that received the new homes,” said Francis McMahon, director of marketing for HP’s U.S. graphic arts organization, in a statement.

For the participants, the experience was equally as rewarding.

“While it was heartbreaking to see the conditions people were living in, it was just as heartwarming that Dscoop as a group was able to make a difference in a couple of families’ lives,” added Jack Glacken, Dscoop’s immediate past chairman and co-owner of Philadelphia-based Today’s Graphics. “We left at 5:30 a.m. and did not return until 8 p.m., and the experience was absolutely worth every second of the time.”

NO MORE MR. NICE GUY: What do Alice Cooper and the printing industry have in common? Nothing, of course. But then again, what does Alice Cooper have in common with anything?

The aging rocker, with the backing of no less than our industry’s own O’Neil Printing, has been hosting an annual Celebrity-AM golf tournament. The 12th annual event is slated for May 5, 2008, at the scenic Talking Stick Golf Club in Scottsdale, AZ. Past celebrity golfers have included musicians Meat Loaf, Pat Boone and Glen Campbell; actors/entertainers Dennis Hopper, Kevin Nealon, Patrick Warburton and Cheech Marin; along with former sports stars Eric Dickerson, Harmon Killebrew and Ryne Sandberg. O’Neil Printing joined the fray as a sponsor in 2001, producing promotional materials.

Proceeds for the event go to the Solid Rock Foundation, a Christian non-profit organization dedicated to meeting the spiritual, economical, physical and social needs of teenagers and children. For more information, visit www.srfrock.com .

IT’S A LIVING: Over the years we’ve heard some interesting stories about printers and their former vocations. It’s not too often that we get wind of what their kids are doing (with the exception of Fred Buck’s son, up-and-coming actor Daniel “Flat Buns” Buck). However, we’ve encountered another that’s quite off the beaten path.

Bob Geier is president of trade bindery Mid Island Bindery in Farmingdale, NY. His daughter has an unusual occupation; she works as a professional shopper for high-profile people, namely celebrities. Among her clients. . .well, we won’t mention names, but obviously the mother of newborn twins has her hands full and needs someone to pick up a can of formula. The whole idea of doing someone else’s shopping is more than a little odd. Imagine walking into a Rodeo Drive fashion plaza and asking yourself, “What would Zsa Zsa do?”

Unfortunately, most of us poor schlubs have to pack multiple kids into the Bonneville and go buy our own Gold Bond Medicated Powder.

But at least we can walk down the street and scratch our rear ends without fear of the paparazzi snapping a picture. Privacy is golden.

LIFE MAKES SENSE AGAIN: Hear the calming whir of the crowd? Smell the food? Feel that warm breeze blowing right through you? The pop of the glove and crack of the bat? Feel the head of your son or daughter poking into your shoulder right around the seventh inning, seeking a pillow?

If you said “yes” to most of these questions, welcome back to baseball season.

And one more thing. . .Go Reds!

—Erik Cagle