Meet the Staff
Val Kibler, Account Representative, val@rapidpress.com
Val is a fountain of energy and enthusiasm who possesses a wealth of knowledge pertaining to printing, paper, and marketing.
She creates new business relationships and enhances current ones by meeting to determine how we can best mold ourselves to a clients needs.
Her last job as a spec rep with Georgia-Pacific where she met with design clients and printers to help in the planning stages of important jobs uniquely qualifies her as both paper and printing expert.
Having worked as a Production Manager at a well respected local advertising agency for seven years she is better able to “put herself in the customers shoes” than any other sales rep in our area. Her other previous jobs in sales, the AA she earned from TCC, and the classes she attended at FSU with an emphasis in marketing, management, and business fortify her value to those seeking our services.
Val is quite active in our community having served as previous Chair to the American Cancer Society, where she was Volunteer of the Year in 1999. She was a Fund Raiser for the American Heart Association, active in Habitat for Humanity & Tallahassee Housing Foundation, a Special Olympics Supporter since 1994, and currently active in the Women’s Forum & Chamber of Commerce, Business After Hours.
Hank Madsen, HMIC, hank@rapidpress.com
Job planning, customer service, and estimating are Hanks main interactions with our clients. “The buck starts here.” “If you begin your job with a well organized plan you will end up with what you were hoping for when you were hoping for it.” Always begin your concept with a quotation and planning session from one of our expert CSR’s.
Hank has been at Rapid Press since the age of 15 when he worked in the bindery. Over the many years he has been a bindery worker, the janitor, an equipment operator, delivery driver, bindery supervisor, assistant plant manager, plant manager, vice president of production, comptroller, and the architect of our total plant management system, he understands how to best produce your job.
As a 4th Degree Black Belt, Certified Instructor, Certified Weapons Expert, and author of the martial arts style Cha Wi Do, Hank is no stranger to discipline and hard work. That has certainly come into play in his most recent endeavor- working 6-7 days a week 10-16 hours a day setting up the areas first integrated web-to-print solution, Digital Store Front. Hank is setting up hundreds of products for our clients to price, upload files, approve proofs, and submit print orders in a Store Front environment. When you think printing on the internet- think Rapid Press!
Lourdes Madsen, President, lourdes@rapidpress.com
After the most important job that anyone can have, raising children, Lourdes became active in the family business, Rapid Press. She was our first delivery driver, our janitor, and started our purchase order management system. As our purchasing agent she learned about paper, inks, film, plates, and the chemicals that we use to make your products.
After extensive OSHA training she became our Safety Director and authored our Safety Procedures and Manual. She began helping with estimates and interacting with our clients and became an expert on that facet of the business as well. Lourdes trained at the executive level of the business under then president, Mary Madsen, and soon learned to run the corporation. She purchased the business when Mary and Norman Senior retired and has been running it since. In 2001 she qualified Rapid Press, Inc. to become a Certified Minority Owned Business.
When our clients asked us to include mailing in our range of services, Lourdes trained at the USPS to learn their (millions of) rules and regulations so that we could help plan our clients work to qualify for the best postage discounts available.
Lourdes was a substitute teacher here in Leon County, worked for a group of attorney’s in Miami, and put herself through college in the 1970s while financially supporting her brother, sisters and grandmother.
Having fled Cuba when Castro took power to live through very hard times as a foreign immigrant in the United States, Lourdes is no stranger to hard work. One could say that “printing is in her blood” as Lourdes was greatly influenced by her Great Aunt Ester Zayas, the former president of the largest newspaper in Havana, Cuba. The tenacity and determination that forged her character growing up is one of the keys to her success as President for Rapid Press, Inc.
Tiger Madsen, Sr. Mascot, Conventional Press Department - retired, tiger@rapidpress.com
Tiger (AKA registered as Mary’s Tiger, named for Lourdes and Hanks youngest child) came into our world. He was featured on the twelve monthly self-promotional calendars that won printing awards during the promotion and marketing of Rapid Press’s new Mitsubishi press.
Tiger once enhanced the office with his routine of snooze, eat, snooze, bark at trucks, greet guests, and snooze. In 2011 he turns 12, which in English Bulldog years is about 150! Although now blind and deaf, and having a very tough time walking, he still enjoys a good meal and snores like he needs a muffler.
Tiger is a Pedigree English Bulldog, brindle in color, and weighs 53 lbs. He is truly mans best friend.
Zoe Madsen, Jr. Mascot, Digital Department
A new generation of English Bulldog ushers in a new generation of printing- Digital Printing. Zoe is young, energetic, and just plain lovable. She is featured on the banner in our new Digital Store Front where clients can price, upload, proof, and order their jobs in a shopping cart environment.
Like Zoe, our new digital department is young and hip. Our 2400 DPI 5-color Digital Press produces beautiful prints up to 13x19 size. Our Digital Envelope Press makes it economical to order as few as 25 full color envelopes adding "open appeal" to your mailers.
Zoe is a Pedigree English Bulldog, white in color, owned by Mary Madsen. Mary was just 7 when she named Tiger. She is now 18 and a full time student at FAMU, majoring in their Veterinary Technical Program. She works at a local veterinary hospital and Zoe was part of the first litter that Mary assisted in the cesarean birth surgery.
Charlie Pariso, Digital Information Manager mailer@rapidpress.com
Rapid Press celebrates Charlie’s 48th year with our firm in 2011.
Charlie was the chief editor for our original product, the Rapid Rater. He took this project from a printed manual to an electronic publication distributed throughout the United States as a pdf book.
Charlie’s most frequent interaction with clients is to review mailing lists submitted for ink-jet addressing. He determines if files are in proper format for automated mailing or if file adjustments such as merge/purge are necessary. It is for this reason that his e-mail address is what it is!
He also handles computer networking and troubleshooting of our in-house systems. A patient man, Charlie can get to the bottom of almost any problem in his field, for instance he alters the postscript code in spreadsheet programs to make it print to his specifications.
After a tour of duty with the U.S. Army, Charlie arrived on the company scene in 1963. This was about 4-1/2 years before we acquired equipment for our first endeavor in providing computer-generated typesetting. This is Charlie’s first and hopefully last job since his honorable discharge from the Army.
Aaron Lindbloom, Digital Department & Prepress Director, Assistant Plant Manager, aaron@rapidpress.com
Originally from Minneapolis Minnesota, Aaron thrives on a fast paced environment.
Aaron has a strong technical background in computers; His father, who is a database administrator and programmer, introduced him to computers at a very early age. He began replacing components in computers and troubleshooting problems in DOS at the age of nine. His mother is an artist and currently teaches sculpture and drawing at FSU.
Aaron graduated from Florida State University with a BS in Mass Media Communications and a minor in Art and came on board full time to manage the prepress department for Rapid Press.
With a blend of technological talent from his father and an artistic eye from his mother, it only made sense he would end up in the prepress area of the commercial printing world.
Aaron began working part-time while in school at FSU as a Plate and proof technician exposing plates and color keys. He quickly moved up to quality control proof assembler. Aaron then continued to strengthen his skills and began running files and troubleshooting RIP problems. Excited to learn new software and techniques in this field he never looked back.
Working part-time at Rapid Press and attending FSU, Aaron quickly became capable of handling every position in prepress. It was clear to senior management that Aaron’s technical skills combined with his enthusiasm and developing management skills could make him a great long-term asset to the company.
Recently Aaron assisted in research, selection, and implementation of the area's PREMIER Digital Print Shop. His is mastering and teaching his staff to run the new 28' long 2400 DPI 5-color digital press line, the 4-Color Digital Envelope Press, XMPie variable data solutions, laying out our new web site, and is Hank's right hand in setting up Digital Store Front for web-to-print order submission, due to be released in August 2011.
Feel free to call on Aaron for assistance; he’s always ready to help.