Introducing Michelle!

Hey everyone! My name is Michelle and I'm the new summer intern for Optimum. I'm going to be writing a variety of blogs over the summer about my experience here, things I find interesting (check back for some simple ways to be environmentally conscious and save some money), and a few updates about Optimum. But, for this blog, I thought that I would properly introduce myself to you all. So, here's a list of the top 11 facts about me (i.e. the first 11 things that popped into my head and I decided to write down).

1. If I had to pick one word to describe myself it would be eclectic.
2. I love adventure
3. I'm in between my sophomore and junior years at Samford University in Birmingham, AL. My major is communication studies, I'm in the Fellows Program, and I absolutely love the professors there, especially in my department--they really care about their students.
4. I'm originally from Northeastern Ohio; I lived there for 18 years until I moved to Alabama to go to school and I'm so glad to be back in Columbus!
5. I have three addresses right now (where I live at school, where I live during the holidays, and where I live for the summer) so I'm always very confused when filling out forms. Hopefully the government doesn't think I'm lying to them, but I really never know which one to put!
6. I'm a pesco-vegetarian.
7. People are always surprised when they find out I was home educated K-12.
8. In case you hadn't noticed yet, I care a lot about the environment, which is actually a pretty recent development. I blame Dr. Borden, my Writing and Rhetoric professor freshman year of college. The woman retired to start a sustainable farm with her husband, which is pretty remarkable if you ask me. I think she's in her 60s now and is in better shape than I am. Probably the nicest person you will ever meet--I visited her class when I was first considering Samford and she took me to her office to talk with me and gave me acai juice. She's a total hippie.
9. I have a lot of social justice causes I'm passionate about, including but not limited to: equality for women, fighting domestic abuse, raising awareness about mental health issues, and stopping genocide in the Sudan. Basically, if someone convinces me that a people group is mistreated or disadvantaged, I get upset and want to do something about it.
10. My last internship was with To Write Love on Her Arms in Florida. Before that I was the research assistant to the legislative director of a policy organization in Ohio.
11. I love books, philosophy, learning about different cultures and religions, and climbing mountains. I do NOT love rock climbing...I have a bad neck so having my arms over my head for that long is just painful. People get confused about this fact.

So, that's me in a nutshell. I love to write (fact #12!) and am really looking forward to updating this blog. If you have questions or comments or just want to say "hi," click on the comment link below. Talk to you soon!

Optimum Wins Conway Family Business Center Award

Since the Conway Family Business Center of Central Ohio has been founded in 1998, they have provided support, insights and programming to help family owned businesses thrive and grow. 2009 marks the 11th year of Conway's Annual Family Business awards.

Optimum Print is the proud recipient of the Support of a Family Business Award. This award was achieved in recognition of the efforts made by Optimum to assist the IT consulting company R. Dorsey.

(From left to right - Optimum Companies CEO John Martin, Optimum Print President Dorothy Martin and R. Dorsey's Iggy Galli, Tim Cook and Robert J. Dorsey)

On January 17th the R. Dorsey building was swept up in a blaze that attacked the Kingswood Building in Grandview Heights. At that time, two of R. Dorsey's employees were working on a software update for Optimum. They received the news at the same time as Optimum's president, Dorothy Martin.

In response, Optimum opened it's doors and allowed R. Dorsey to operate out of consolidated offices within Optimum's headquarters building. Dorothy Martin stated that "We knew R. Dorsey was struggiling with insurance. When you have everything burn to the ground, it's a long processes in learning to recover from that. We wanted to help them, and I think it's important for small business to help each other out."

Aproximatley 10 R. Dorsey employees worked inside of Optimum's building until a new Worthington office opened in late September. "We really enjoyed their company." said Dorothy. "Once a month, we do a potluck, we invited them, and they brought food. I think with today's economy, we need to be supportive and from partnerships with small businesses. We need to help each other."

Visit Optimum Print at the Ohio State Fair!

The theme of the Ohio State Fair this year is "Print is alive" and the printing industry is on site with a booth in the MarketPlace Building.

Come and visit our volunteer representative! For more information, and to find out how people in the print industry can get into the fair for free, click here.