Customer Service High School

Judy Thomas

***********@***.***

Current: Freelance Graphic Artist at Skyewolfe Photography

Summary

Dedicated, hard-working individual who has a drive to succeed in any given environment. Extensive experience as a graphic artist in the newspaper industry, also loves to learn, and always up to a challenge whatever the situation. Works well as part of a team and as efficiently alone. Seeking a position to develop, excel and give my best to an employer. Highly motivated graphic artist with a broad range of skills. A self-starter who needs a minimum of supervision to complete tasks. Experienced in taking responsibility for a project from start to finish. As a Team Lead: proficient in scheduling & time management. Enjoy a fast-paced environment, detail oriented and focused onquality at all levels of the working process. Excellent written, visual and verbal communication skills. Experienced with print production, electronic file trouble-shooting, proof reading, design and art direction make me a perfect candidate for a position that requires skill in all phases of the process.

Specialties include:

• Proficiency on Mac and PC, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Quark Xpress, Microsoft Word

• Advertising and brochure design, business cards, color, concept development, direct mail, editing, forms,

photography

• Team leadership, marketing, newspaper, pre-press production, proofreading, typesetting, troubleshooting,

proofreading, editing and bindery

Experience

Freelance Graphic Artist at Skyewolfe Photography

January 2012 - Present (4 months)

Adjusted & processed photographs in photoshop & lightroom for an online parts catalog.

Graphic Artist / Team Lead at The Dallas Morning News

July 1982 - September 2011 (29 years 3 months)

Started "on the line" laying out pages of editorial and advertising. Also created ads by hand and helped the typesetters when needed. The company acquired new Atex typesetters in '84 and from then on was the trainer for all new systems that were implemented from '83-'98. Worked closely with the IT dept. to customize and develop short-cuts for each new system for training purposes. Promoted to a team lead position 1999-2009 for the Real Estate, Automotive and Recruitment classified sections. Supervised ad design and production and served as a liaison between 12 artists and the sales staff, making sure all layouts, instructions and elements were together for the particular job to present to the artist for a smooth completion. Provided project updates for supervisors at various stages of completion and make changes as necessary. Worked from concept to completion on newspaper sections, magazine ads and standard newspaper advertising.

3 recommendations available upon request

Cashier & Customer Service at Walmart

December 2006 - December 2008 (2 years 1 month)

This was a extra part-time job to help pay for my son's college education. Started work on the main line of

cashiers, after 6 months, was promoted to the Money Center and Customer Service, handling returns &

exchanges, money orders, money transfers and cashing paychecks.

Typesetter / Layout & Paste-up Artist at Greenville Herald Banner Newspaper

September 1980 - July 1982 (1 year 11 months)

Typeset & paste-up of stories and advertisements part-time while attending college. Manual layout of editorial and classified pages, proofread, output film & paper to imager.

Education

East Texas State / Texas A&M University-Commerce

BA, Printing, Photography, Business, 1979 - 1982

Activities and Societies: Worked at the Campus Print Shop and was the sole typesetter & paste-up artist for the Campus Newspaper for two years. Also learned every aspect about Printing from front-desk order taking, pre-press (typesetting, layout & camera work), ABdick & Hiedelberg presses to all forms of bindery.

Skyline High School

1976 - 1979

Activities and Societies: Studied Fashion Merchandising & Computer Science. Member of the choir, ensemble

& musical productions, and yearbook committee.

Judy Thomas

Freelance Graphic Artist at Skyewolfe Photography

3 people have recommended Judy

"I've never seen anyone approach each and every detail of the job, be it big or small, with as much dedication as Judy Thomas. Always aware of the big picture and able to prioritize every aspect of each challenge presented to her. When stymied with road blocks she will always approach them with a positive attitude. 'This is the task at hand - how do we accomplish it?'"

Michael Bourne, Senior Graphic Designer, Dallas Morning News, was with another company when

working with Judy at The Dallas Morning News

"Judy was always highly detail oriented and very conscientious of deadlines. I enjoyed working with her."

Don Whitaker, Senior Macintosh Support Analyst, A.H. Belo, worked with Judy at The Dallas Morning

News

"Judy's work ethic is excellent! She consistently goes above and beyond to complete any projects to the best standard possible. Judy is also very cognizant and consistent with time management and works very well with all members of the many and varied projects that we worked together on over the years. Judy is a high-caliber employee and would be an excellent choice for any position she's chosen for! I would be happy to give a personal recommendation to anyone considering Judy Thomas for their employ!"

Rev Aliene Bodholdt, Graphic Artist, The Dallas Morning News, worked with Judy at The Dallas

Morning News

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