| July 29, 2000 |
Congratulations to Ashley and Bruce Reid! They have a beautiful little boy....and now we hear Alex Davis is about to be a father. I see
Alex's wife at work occasionally, and Friday I made a point of going by to see her. Michelle is a counselor and it's hard to get in to see
her around the students, but I was persistent. She was so excited! I know she'll be a wonderful mother, but what about Alex? Just
kidding, Alex, I know you and Bruce will both be wonderful fathers. Just goes to show, great Deluxers never die, they just MULTIPLY!
| July 24, 2000 |
It's getting harder and harder to find any news to put on the "Life After Deluxe" page, so I guess I'll retire it to the archives. I hear so little and usually people aren't certain of the details. I hate to report stuff wrong and most of what I hear is on the message base anyhow. Joe Park is about to become a father. Bruce and Ashley Reid have a new baby boy. Mike Franklin is a new grandfather. Kathleen Hukle has indeed moved to Atlanta. Theresa Jones is working over at First Union with Abbie Jones and Linda Stickel. April has a state job, something involving adult education, I think. Linda Roper has a temporary job at MCV that might turn into permanent; we sure hope so, Linda! Linda Cosgrove sent me a note saying her e-mail address and IM have changed to PayneNtheS2@email.msn.com. Ain't that just like Linda? Barbara Askew changed her e-mail address to askew@cavtel.net. Joan Stegall changed hers to j-stegall@home.com.
If we're going to have a real get-together to try to include as many Deluxers as possible, someone has to offer to get it together. Coralee said she would be willing to arrange a lunch at Klara's Kitchen, but I haven't gotten any feedback from anyone else. Let us know what you wanna do, folks. We also had some discussion about a reunion on the Deluxe parking lot. There's the little problem of nowhere to sit and no bathrooms available, so that would have to be fairly short. There's also the problem of getting the word out. A mass mailing is time-consuming and costly. I forgot what it's called, maybe a phone tree or a phone chain, when someone calls 5 people and gives each of them 5 names to call.
I know everyone joins me in expressing deepest sympathy to Stella Hudson. Stella's husband passed away recently. The address I have for her is 2521 Troycott Place, Richmond 23237.
| June 6, 2000 |
My daughter, Valerie, graduated from the University of Virginia a couple of weeks ago. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in
Chemistry. She is now like her mother, looking for a job. Valerie would probably just go bananas if she knew I put her picture here.
Fortunately, she's not overly impressed with the website and I can rest assured she'll never notice!
Several of us have been meeting for lunch occasionally and I really enjoy seeing former co-workers. We've talked about a plan for a monthly or every-other-month lunch, similar to the breakfasts sponsored by the 25 Year Club. We'd like to have it on Saturday so the working crowd can come. Give us your thoughts about a time and place. Send me a note (rcumbea@attglobal.net) or use the message base here. Ruth suggested Lone Star at Southpark Mall, so she won't have to drive so far. Would everyone be willing to drive to Colonial Heights?
Steve L. suggested we have a reunion on the Deluxe parking lot sometime in October, if the building has not been sold by then. Should we make it a Saturday afternoon, maybe Oct. 7?
Be sure to pass along information about these get-togethers to your friends who are not on-line. We don't want to leave anybody out! And don't forget to post to the message base occasionally. I've gotten feedback from quite a few people and, believe me, folks like to read what you have to say, even if you think it's trivial. We're happy to see a new name on the message list, even if it's just "Hello, I'm here."
Let me take this opportunity to wish everyone a safe and wonderful summer.
| May 2, 2000 |
I visited mostly with Joan Stegall and Debbie Sasser, but I also enjoyed talking to Virginia Farmer, Elva Thompson, Dream Sloan, Edith McCann, Ed Adams and Mildred Shanks, among others.
I traveled to South Hill a few days ago to visit my old boss, Ruth King. Ruth promises to get a computer soon and go on-line. She has a beautiful home down there in South Hill. She spends a lot of time helping out in her sister's restaurant. If you're anywhere near Kenbridge, stop in at Mildred's Meals....chances are, you'll run into Ruth. If not, ask for her sister, Mildred, and tell her to let Ruth know you came a-callin'.
The message base on the main page has been replaced with a new one. I had really wanted it to show a "welcome" message when it first came up and I couldn't figure out a way to make it do that. All of the old messages are on the "Archives" page. If you are going to post a message, be sure to do it on the main board.
| April 29, 2000 |
I received a gift check from Deluxe the other day, kind of a bonus I guess for the work I did on capital assets. That was a pretty
heavy assignment that many Deluxers probably didn't even know I was working on. Bill Parent responded to my "thank you" in the
most touching way. He said, "It's never pretty when we get into plant closing situations, but the way that the entire Richmond
group handled it made us all proud..." What a nice comment from Bill. We can all be proud of the job we did for Deluxe. Right up
until the end I saw everyone continue to do their jobs with the same pride and care that they had for so many years.I also received an e-mail from Ray Blanchard. Ray expects to leave Deluxe on May 5. I know we all wish him well as he ventures into the world outside Deluxe. I enjoyed working with Ray in those final weeks.
Don't forget the Deluxe breakfast on May 2. Shoney's at Bermuda Square, 9:00 am is the time and place. I'll be starting work in May, so this is probably the last one I'll be able to attend. I was thinking of setting up a similar arrangement for a monthly lunch on Saturday for those who have to work for a living!! Let me have some feedback, anyone interested?
| March 8, 2000 |
Previously I reported that we should give the Greensboro address and phone number for employment verification. I have now been told that Corporate Payroll should be contacted for that information. The phone number is 1-800-784-7382.
| March 4, 2000 |
In scarcely a week the building will be an empty shell. Non-Deluxers could not possibly envision the place we were entering daily just a
year ago. The cutters went first; they wouldn't go straight through the doors of the loading dock. We thought for a moment that the
plant must have been built around them. The loading dock doors were torn down immediately. Our maintenance crew, in true tradition,
did not give up. They eventually angled the massive machines just right and pushed them on through. By the time I got the camera, the
scene wasn't near as awesome as it had been. This picture shows Buddy and Ed packing the conveyors on the truck. The sections
are so long that the conveyors presented a challenge almost as great as the cutters did. Buddy has a better feel for the forklift now though,
he turns and twists and works most anything into the open doors of the trucks. I know you can't read the sign on the back of the
forklift; it says "Tonka." Linda just couldn't resist.As I go into my final week at Deluxe, I can't help getting very philosophical. Many of us grew up at Deluxe; I'll be the first to admit I probably grew up more slowly than most. The influence that Deluxe has had on many of our lives is just astronomical. Yet, I feel like my experiences during the last year will stay with me more than anything I did during the previous 25 years. I feel very privileged to have been such an integral part of the closing process and one of the last to leave.
If I can find time, I plan to put up some pictures the February 24 festivities. I haven't gotten a job yet, so it looks like I'll have plenty of time a week from now! I guess maybe I should use some of that time looking for a job, or cleaning up my computer room.
| February 20, 2000 |
Gloria Ward and her newborn son came to visit us last week. Little Jared is everything a mother could wish for, such a sweet, cuddly
little guy that everyone wanted a turn holding him. It was good to see Gloria again, too, seems like she's been gone much longer than
just 6 weeks.Dennis Snader also paid a visit. He looked handsome and spiffy; he has been doing the job search thing again. Dennis just wasn't happy selling RV's, so he started looking around again and found a job at Eternal Technology Corp. Eternal Technology is located at 1800 Touchstone Road in Colonial Heights. Dennis tells us the company makes computer parts and recently moved to the USA. If you're looking for a job in production, ETC might be a good possibility. Their phone number is 524-8555 and their fax number is 524-8556.
Deluxe-Richmond is now entering its final week. The retirees will treat the remaining Deluxers to a covered dish lunch Monday. Thursday
is the last full day for most and we look forward to visits from many former employees. All but 11 or 12 employees will come in Friday to
sign their papers and join the "world outside Deluxe." The group will meet at Shoney's for breakfast after everyone has finished with the
paperwork. It won't be long now until our beloved facility will be an empty building. Some people who have left tell me they always get
a peculiar feeling as they ride by the old place, others say they hardly notice. I, for one, think I shall always feel a little sad and nostalgic
when I cruise down 95 and glance over at the soon-to-be-empty parking lot. To quote Gary Buhr once more, it's been "for the most part
a great ride and we'll never see the like of it again."
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| February 5, 2000 |
Big corporate news broke during the past week. The company is reorganizing again, and this time the check printing business will go back to being its own company. Deluxe Corporation will be only the Paper Payments Systems...I assume that will include the old Deluxe Check Printers, Checks Unlimited (Current) and our new acquisition, Designer Checks. Designer Checks is a direct marketer of personal and business checks. Our chairman and chief executive officer will be Larry Mosner and our president and chief operating officer will be Ron Eilers. If I remember correctly, these are names long associated with Deluxe. I think this is good news for those who can stay with the company. These guys know the check printing business and they were around in the “good ole days” before benefits were slashed mercilessly. It would be foolish to think things would get as good as they used to be, but I suspect Larry and Ron hold some of the values that made Deluxe such a good company to work for 10 or 15 years ago. I also suspect they’ll also want to resurrect the image of quality service that Deluxe used to be famous for, too.
The other Deluxe companies, eFunds, iDLX and Government Services, will become a company called eFunds. Gus Blanchard will be chairman and chief executive officer of eFunds. It seems like this move will give most everybody what they really wanted. Gus never seemed to think much of the check printing operation, he was ready to call checks obsolete and bury the business long before the last dollar had been made. I guess Gus is glad to wash his hands of us and I don’t think any of us are exactly broken up about losing him. Looks like a win-win situation!
February 25th will be the last day for most of the people left in the Richmond plant. Since departing employees typically sign their name and leave on the last day, we’re planning our going-away festivities for the 24th. We’ve asked those who plan to visit to arrive around 11:00 am. We hope to have lunch available for guests, so we’ve also asked folks to try to let us know if they’re coming. These are not hard-and-fast rules, though, we’d hate to see anyone not come just because they couldn’t make it on time or weren't able to let us know.
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| January 15, 2000 |
Tammy Paulette called in last week and told us she has changed jobs. She went to Dupont when she left Deluxe, but the work was very strenuous and she was working with over 11,000 volts of electricity. Tammy just wasn't comfortable there, so she moved on. One thing we need to bear in mind is that the first place we go in the "world outside of Deluxe" might not be right for us. We can hope for a smooth transition, but be prepared to make another move if things don't feel right.
Our workload picked up a little last week. It didn't stop the maintenance crew and the activities committee from making us a few great meals, though, we had a pancake breakfast and baked potatoes with all the trimmings. One day we had fresh-baked cookies and milk. Friday is still Popcorn Day, thanks to Carol and Bart. We have calendars posted about the plant with the schedule of treats, so we'll know what days we'll go hungry if we don't bring something! We really can't say "thank you" enough to those who keep us so well-fed. We've hardly missed the sandwich machine!
| December 30, 1999 |
We said good-bye to a lot of people on the Friday before Christmas. Things are ominously quiet around the old place. Even before the big announcement last February, I had visions of the building empty, grass growing up through the parking lot, “no trespassing” signs, windows broken and boarded. Those visions might be closer than I ever imagined. We still have 50 employees, but we scarcely ever see more than 30 cars on the parking lot. Work is slow, so there’s a little time to reminisce, as well as surf the net looking for jobs. The outplacement company, Right Management, has been faxing many of the resumes back for final approval. It’s a good idea for everyone to have a resume done before the plant closes, even if there’s no immediate plan to use it. We never know what’s up the road, and it’ll be harder to construct a resume later.
The remaining Deluxers seemed to enjoy the Christmas season. We decorated almost as much as we always did. I had bought the Christmas tree at auction, but I brought it back for the cafeteria. Linda Stickel, Ann Williams, Becky Smith and Kathleen Hukle brought in lots of good food to lend an air of festivity. We had the usual Christmas Dinner, catered by Klara’s Kitchen. Linda and the maintenance crew prepared lunch every day during Christmas week. We had hot dogs one day, hamburgers one day, hotwings and ham biscuits with beans and potato salad and even a full breakfast one day. Many thanks to Linda Stickel, Ed Maddox, Mike Champion, Bill Marshall and Buddy Satterwhite!
If you didn’t receive the December issue of Time magazine, I suggest you make a point of getting it. I spent hours flipping through the 240 pages (ain’t vacation great?!!). Albert Einstein was named Person of the Century. Some folks might remember that everyone could vote for the person they felt should have this distinction. At one point many were disturbed because Hitler was winning. There was an article about Hitler, with reasons why he didn’t win. Franklin Roosevelt was discussed in depth. I don’t think I ever realized what a great president he was. The picture that grabbed my attention the most was of a naval officer playing the accordion at Roosevelt’s funeral; tears streamed down his face. I am awed by the sights of a nation in mourning, not only because one person can touch so many people, but also by the fact that such a large community is united when the people share a common emotion. Someone once told me that I would never see the relief of a nation like that seen during the Bay of Pigs crisis. As a student, I hated history, government and politics; now I’m fascinated by such things and I wish I knew more about them.
OK, so I got off on a tangent...but this might be the closest I get to being an essayist and having an audience. Let me take this opportunity to wish everyone a wonderful New Year ahead...it’ll be different, if nothing else!
| December 7, 1999 |
Would you former Deluxers believe, after the above announcement, that we have worked overtime for the last two days? It seems all the plants have had unexpectedly large counts. We've had outplacement sessions that caused us to fall behind, with two more sessions scheduled this week.
About half of our work should leave us next week leaving us with daily counts somewhere around 1400. All the FLW's will go, so RJ's will be the only deskbooks we produce. Three presses are scheduled to be shipped out next week, leaving us with only eleven.
And the answer to the Homepage puzzle is: "A Year to Shut Down." Thanks to Mike McCann for that interesting anagram.
| December 5, 1999 |
The Christmas tree is up in the cafeteria. It took several days to finally get it put together. Many thanks to Teresa Radle, Mike McCann and Lewis McQuillen for volunteering to help. Putting up that tree was similar to every other experience I've ever had with Christmas trees. The lights work just fine until they're on the tree, then they stop working. So, there's some unlit spaces and there's a shortage of ornaments, but we have lots of red bows, thanks to Becky, and it looks quite nice.
We also had some special goodies, like cake, cookies and hot chocolate to usher in the Christmas season. Thanks go to Becky Smith for providing the sweets.
Jeff Joyner and Tracey Roe palmed in for the last time on Friday. Jeff starts his new job right away and Tracey will concentrate on her studies for a while before looking for another job.
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| November 22, 1999 |
I received an e-mail from Steve Lewerenz over the weekend. Steve was so pleased with his new job, and I want you to read about it just as Steve wrote it, because he said it so well:
As you have heard I was finally hired by the State and it only took 6 weeks from the time I applied to the time I was hired, my official title is "Program support tech" which is a fancy word for "Inventory control specialist." My duties will be to monitor and record all usage and expenses of all items needed to run several depts. in the building, best part of this is my wife Betsy and I can ride to work together everyday and it's not a production job whatsoever, I'll have a cubical with my own desk, PC, etc.. give everyone my best and tell them to never stop reaching up thinking they're not going to get what they truly want.Congratulations, Steve, we wish you much success in your new job!
Janice Shelton finally went home from the hospital. We thought she had set up housekeeping there! Last week, one of our own decided it was time to go see Janice and find out exactly what was going on there. And so, our emissary found her way on over to Johnston Willis Hospital, room 402. She was most disturbed on her arrival to find the area of Janice's room somewhat unkempt-looking, with the doorsill beat up and boxes stacked in the hallway. But there was room 402, with Jan's name on the door.
Our emissary marched herself on through the anteroom and into the hospital room, but, alas, found no Janice, nor any sign of Janice. There were no flowers (we heard there were lots of flowers), no cards, no lotion, nothing to suggest Janice had been there. The bed was unmade and a hospital gown lay on it, as if someone sitting on the side of the bed had dropped it off the shoulders and walked away. Our emissary glanced around, looked in the bathroom, then went to the nurses' station to ask some serious questions. The nurses showed no concern, said Janice was there and they had just talked to her. Our heroine meekly returned to the room to find the same scene. She went back to the nurses' station, determined to get some satisfaction. The nurses gave the same response, again offending our distraught lady by assuming she had not had sense enough to check the bathroom. She returned to the room, resigning herself to patiently waiting for the patient to return from wherever she had roamed. After about half an hour, the disappointed visitor placed a note with the box of candy she had brought to Janice, and made her way home.
The next day, we discussed what might possibly have happened, fearing Janice was indeed AWOL. A call went to the hospital later in the day, explaining what had happened. As our emissary sat and waited, Janice sat, lonesome and sad, not 20 feet away, behind the other door in the anteroom! Well, Janice, we tried. It's good to know Janice is finally at home, recovering from her ordeal.
| November 18, 1999 |
Well guess who's the laughing stock of Deluxe now?!!! Yours truly was startled by someone howling through the fan in the network room. Now it's become a plant-wide joke, with the howling coming in anonymous phone calls and over the PA. Sounds like one of Joe Park's tricks...so who took Joe's place, anyway? EVERY place has to have one, and the Capitol Police got ours!
| November 13, 1999 |
Earl came for a visit late Friday afternoon. He is selling Hubs peanuts for the Lions Club. Hubs are a Christmas tradition for many of us and we missed them last year because of a fire at the Hubs production facility. Give Earl a call if you want some peanuts.
Friday was the last day for several Deluxers. Karen Oliphant and Imelda Perry left fairly early, but Allen Luck hung around a little longer. Allen worked for Deluxe for a very long time and he seemed very sad to go. He showed his usual friendly, yet dignified style as he walked around to say his final good-byes. I always said that I never saw Allen make a social blunder. Carol and Jeff escorted Allen to his truck, where he ceremoniously threw his badge to the pavement and made his get-away (uh, I mean departure!). Once again, Schmitt's gain is our loss. Schmitt must be getting better and better as Deluxe gets smaller and smaller!
Janice Shelton should be out of intensive care by now. She has certainly been through a lot. During laser surgery to remove her gall bladder, the bile duct was severed. Six days later, when Janice was still in unbearable pain, the problem was discovered. She then underwent a five-hour operation to reconstruct the bile duct and clean up all the leakage that occurred over a six-day period. It was reported Friday that Janice was still running a low-grade fever and that she was having some allergic reactions to medication. She was able to have liquids Friday and hoped to leave intensive care within a day or two.
Some readers might not have known Janice very well. She has been known to some as the "Voice of Deluxe" because she greeted visitors and operated the switchboard for so long. We must have heard her cheerful voice on the PA millions of times. Nancy Bishop stands out in my mind as another "Voice of Deluxe." Nancy was the switchboard operator back in 1973 when I started at Deluxe. I remember thinking she did it perfectly, very self-assured and professional sounding. I also remember thinking that was a job I could never do, and that I would never want to do. Yet, Deluxers now hear my voice spilling all over the plant fairly often and I don't mind a bit. Amazing, isn't it, how things change!
| November 11, 1999 |
Those of us that are still wandering about the plant received a "Human Resources policy and process update" today. It has a lot of entries on it, but we won't see much difference before we leave in March. Holiday pay is set at 1.5% of regular pay; seems to me it was double or triple pay before. Overtime won't be paid unless the employee actually works more than 40 hours; in other words, the workweek can't be inflated with vacation or sick pay that allows overtime to occur. Probably the biggest change listed is a "paid time off account." It won't be effective until after we leave, but it's an interesting change. Vacation, holidays, personal days and sick time will all be combined in one account. Time taken off for whatever reason will come from that account. Some of the other changes aren't explained; we'll receive more information later. Change just keeps on coming!!
| November 8, 1999 |
One of the gratifying things about this whole state of affairs has been the comradery of the Deluxe group. Everywhere I look I see people giving each other tips on where the perfect job might be and encouraging each other. Look at the groups we have at Cavalier Telephone and Schmitt. People are sharing what they find and happy to help their co-workers.
Several weeks ago Fred Morrison dropped by. He just wanted to see the old place one more time before it was gone and to visit with what few Deluxers are left. Fred was between jobs at that time, but he had plans to go to work at Carmax. The other day he sent us information about a Career Fair that Carmax is having. Fred encouraged us to call him if we need help or information about the hiring process at Carmax. The Career Fair is Thursday, November 11 from 2-7 pm at the Carmax corporate offices. Fred's been gone for a long time, but he didn't forget about us.
I heard today that Janice Shelton is still in intensive care at Johnston Willis Hospital. Janice had a gall bladder operation that resulted in a seriously damaged liver. She has been in the ICU since she underwent five hours of surgery last Tuesday. Janice is still not well enough to receive visitors or phone calls, but I hope she knows our thoughts and prayers are with her. I know I speak for everyone in wishing her a complete and speedy recovery.
Our last winter at Deluxe is upon us. The policy is that if inclement weather causes the plant to close, the announcement will be made on WRVA Radio, AM 1140. Does anybody out there listen to AM radio anymore? If I lost my wits and thought Deluxe might be shutting down for bad weather, I'd have to take my candle or flashlight and find the Green Section to figure out how to find WRVA. I'd probably have to use a candle, so I could put my batteries in the radio. Come to think of it, I don't think I have a battery-operated radio. I'd probably just try to go to work.
na nu, na nu! HOME