20 Under 40 - 1997 Profile: Deborah Ann Franks, The Wichita Eagle

PRESSTIME

By Presstime Magazine

First Published: December 1997

Attracting and keeping good part-time help in the packaging area can be difficult, but Deborah Ann Franks sees it as an opportunity—for others.

"We have Vietnamese workers and others who don't speak English," explains Kevin Desmond, vice president of operations for The Wichita Eagle. "Her attention to diversity includes organizing English classes," and he credits her with the smooth melding of cultures in the Eagle's cause.

Franks, the Eagle's assembly and distribution manager, also encourages advertising and circulation staffs to meet regularly to strategize and trouble-shoot common distribution problems. Her department's goal is to make sure that advertisers meet delivery deadlines and inserts go to the right homes, each day, every day.

That job requires sharp focus on people problems in-house, and she actively lobbies for training and other opportunities for her staff. Franks asks her staffers to be less defensive about mistakes and instead to "focus on competitive vision and use teamwork to work toward common goals." As a result, she says, "We have a clearer idea of what our customers want."

That comes in handy. The packaging center prepares inserts for as many as 43 Sunday zones. Franks plans ahead, juggling zones and the odd problem, such as a conveyor breakdown. Fortunately, Franks has an engineering background. She is prepared for whatever it takes to get the job done.