Every Wednesday, Beverly Kay could be found in the press room at M&M Printing, overseeing the final leg in the weekly journey of The Observer News. She is pictured above with one of her carriers, Frank Blaszczak. Anyone who meets Beverly walks away with a smile. Strangers become friends easily. Beverly will be missed by everyone at The Observer News and M&M Printing.
Beverly Kay began working at The Shopper & Observer News in 1987 as a front desk clerk. She added circulation manager to her list of duties, and has been taking classified ads and overseeing the delivery of the local newspaper ever since.
We would like to welcome Alex Reid as Beverly’s replacement.
Following is Beverly’s farewell in her own words … and that is something she never has a lack of.
Dear Observer News communities,
Retirement. A person may retire at whatever age they please. I am using early retirement as a basic term. I am either going to love it or hate it. The very first thing I’m going to do is throw away all my black pants, shirts and shoes that I wore every Wednesday while working in the press room.
I would like to thank Mickey (Stephen) Mixon, for giving me the opportunity to work for this fine company.
Mickey allowed me to develop circulation 27 years ago. I started with six carriers and one bulk delivery person. Now there are 23 carriers [for home delivery] and six bulk deliverers. Nancy Martin has been delivering The Observer News for more than 20 years.
All the carriers are a great bunch of people, and I will miss them a lot. Thank you to every one of them — you made my job easier.
In the early years, I also helped in the classified department when needed. I began working here around the same time as Brenda Knowles and Betty Morrow. We were known as the Killer Bs. We got to know all our customers on a personal basis. Some of them will still call to tell me a story or a joke (Glenda) that always made my day. I will miss that.
I will also miss Milton Brown making the coffee every morning at The Observer.
The last old-timer left will be Chere Simmons. She started with me, Brenda and Betty. I stood behind Chere as she taught me how to paginate and to input classified ads into the Shopper. She is so creative.
The sales staff, Vilma Stillwell and Nan Kirk, showed me how to calculate the cost of ads, which I needed for billing.
My sidekicks on Wednesdays during printing at M&M were Gracie Rodriguez and Junior Ramon. They’re great workers, and we had a lot of good times.
I want to thank Wes Mullins, CEO of The Observer News and M&M Printing, for putting up with me all these years and giving me opportunities to grow.
Thank you, David Payne, for watching my back. Literally. He sat behind me. I know I bugged him at times, but he has always forgiven me and he’s still talking to me, so I guess everything’s okay.
I am going to stop and smell the roses for a while, then I will get myself up and do the things on the bucket list.
Soooo looong, everyone … it’s been a great ride!
Beverly Kay,
Retired Circulation and Classified Manager
