Some Organizational Changes at Ball Publishing

Jennifer Zurko

After 43 years with Ball, our long-time Production Manager Kathy Wootton is retiring. Kathy started in 1981 in Corporate as editorial assistant working for Vic Ball himself on what was then the small pocket-sized issues of GrowerTalks magazine.

In the fall of 1982, when GrowerTalks made its debut as a “full-sized” magazine, she moved over to Ball Publishing, where she held many titles over the years, including Traffic Manager, Display Ad Manager/Classifieds, Production Coordinator and, finally in 1997, Production Manager.  

All of us at Ball Publishing wish to thank Kathy for the innumerable contributions she’s made to GrowerTalks and Green Profit magazines, helping to continue their success over multiple decades, and to Ball Publishing as an invaluable member of the team. We will miss her!

Assuming the role of Production Specialist is Jackie Batson, who’s taking over for Kathy. Jackie has many years of experience in publishing, most recently as the Production Manager of Progressive Grocer and Drug Store News at EnsembleIQ, which also publishes other titles geared toward the grocery, drug, hospitality and technology trade. Her extensive publishing knowledge makes her an excellent addition to the Ball Publishing team, enabling a seamless transition after Kathy’s decades-long tenure.

On the creative side, after 15 years with Ball Publishing, our Creative Director Chris Truesdale is retiring and we’re bringing back Anissa Lobrillo to fill that role. I say “back” because Anissa has been a freelance designer for Ball Publishing for the last 15 years, but before that she was our full-time Creative Director for over 10 years.

In 2010, Anissa stepped back into a freelance role and Chris made the switch from a freelance designer in Ball’s Marketing Communications Department to full-time Creative Director in Ball Publishing. Now with Chris’ retirement, Anissa is back as Creative Director. Chris will still be doing some freelance design work on GrowerTalks and we’re glad that she’ll still have a connection to the Ball Publishing team.

We’re so happy for Kathy and Chris as they enjoy their much-deserved retirement, and are excited to have Jackie and Anissa on the team! GT