A little bit of background
Rich's career interests began with the hobby of photography in his teenage years. He spent a significant amount of time behind the camera as well as in the darkroom in those pre-digital years. His hobby grew into part-time work which continued through high school where he also worked as a photographer for local newspapers. Photojournalism was the career path after being awarded a summer scholarship during high school to take classes at Ohio University. Instead, Rich studied engineering and industrial technology at Ohio Northern Universty graduating in 1981.
Rich was offered a teaching position at Miami University and taught printing and photography classes while working on his graduate degree. Career opportunities in the early 1980s were challenging and Rich relied on his experience in printing and publishing. He worked for a division of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (HBJ) from 1982 to 1984, then to the newspaper conglomerate Knight Ridder working in the purchasing department. The focus was supplying the chain of approximately 60 nationwide newspapers with supplies to produce newspapers. As with many businesses in the mid to late 1980s, the personal computer was significantly impacting the industry and changed both the centralized purchasing as well as the production of content. Knight Ridder restructured its centralized purchasing in 1986 and offered Rich a move from Akron, Ohio to Miami, Florida ... or a small severance package. With trepidation, Rich took the severance pay and opted for and founded Consolidated Printing and Publishing Company as an entrepreneur. After merging with two additional companies in the late 1990s, the Rich sold his original building and equipment in1999. Although his role has shifted from overall general management to attending to key accounts primarily in Ohio, Rich is still grounded in the everyday mechanics of production.
Rich and his wife Brenda have a comfortable home in Cincinnati, Ohio with their two college age children. They enjoy family and travel, as well as time on their sailboat.