I first walked into The Monks Copy Shops when I was preparing to publish The Transverse Myelitis Association's first newsletter in 1996. I had been comparing prices at the various printing establishments around Columbus. Their prices were the lowest I could find. They got the job. The first newsletter was a small publication, as was the membership directory in 1997. I explained to the managers at Monks that the TMA was a not-for-profit that was just getting off the ground, and that we did not have an operating budget; I would be paying for the printing job. I also explained that I did not have all of the money, and I would need to pay it off over time. They said that arrangement was fine. And thus began a very unusual relationship between The Transverse Myelitis Association and The Monks Copy Shops.

I had to pay for the first few newsletters and membership directories as our contributions in those early days did not come close to covering our expenses. I walked out of the store with our copies of the newsletters and directories; the payments were always made later, over time. I have never been asked, "when are we going to get paid?"

As our publications became larger and more complicated, so too did the printing and publishing job. Each time a piece of paper is handled, there is a cost. Our publications tend to be quite labor intensive. The staff at Monks would show me a new way to staple the newsletter. I would tell them that it certainly looked great, but I wasn't sure that we could handle the expense. A manager would come up to the table and would tell me, "We'll assume the cost of the stapling; consider that our donation to the Association." Then as our membership directory grew in size, it became necessary to consider new bindings. The staff demonstrated a new binding for the last directory and it looked really great, but I explained that the TMA just could not assume that kind of expense for the directories. As I was disappointedly visualizing the big ugly staple in the corner of the directory, a manager approached the table and said, "We'll assume the cost of the binding; consider that our donation to the Association."

I have had to develop and publish several fundraising booklets and brochures. It has been my own goal not to spend any money from our operating budget for the purpose of fundraising. I don't know if it is realistic or even effective for the TMA to have this policy, but it has been my own approach since our inception. Color printing is very expensive. I have explained to them while we are costing out a job that this one is going to be an out-of-pocket expense. The last words of our negotiation belong to me, and they are always, "please be gentle." What I always hear back is, "Sandy, you know we take good care of you." And they do. They do in so many different ways. They have always given us better than comparative pricing on our printing jobs. With all that they throw in "as a contribution to the Association," I often wonder whether they are making any profit at all from the jobs that we bring them.

And what we get from Monks is so much more than a really great deal. It has always been a priority of our Association to produce professional publications within the constraints of our budget. Monks works really hard for us to accomplish that goal. And I am not an easy customer. My printer does not print a perfectly straight page. That means that they have to realign every single page on the surface of the printer to correct for my mayhem. They print electronically when we work with smaller documents, but the newsletter is not amenable to this type of printing. They also deliver all of our printing jobs to my home. This is no small chore as the boxes now fill up a truck. It takes the driver and myself about a half-hour to move the load from the truck to my living room.

Over the years the managers and staff of Monks have come to know me and they have learned about the Association. They have begun to learn about our cause. It is not just a job anymore for these people at Monks. I know that they care about what we are doing.

I walked into Monks a couple of weeks ago, and one of the managers walked up to the counter. She said that one of her best friends was just diagnosed with Transverse Myelitis. My jaw dropped onto the counter. Now, what are the odds of that happening? I called her friend. She is now a member of the TMA and has initiated some communications through the Transverse Myelitis Internet Club. Her friend knew how to find her help; she certainly knew who had all of the newsletters.

The people at Monks do a wonderful job. We always get the best product from Monks, we get the best service and we get the best price. But we really get so much more than that from these people. We get a group of people who care about those who have Transverse Myelitis. Diann, Jim, Margie and Ken - thank you! And thank you to the wonderful staff at Monks. You have all made such a wonderful difference in my life. And you have made a tremendous difference in the lives of the people who receive and use the publications that you produce. We are grateful for your conscientious and generous support of our Association and our members.

If you are in need of Digital Printing Services please consider Monks (see their web site for details) to show your appreciation for all they do for the TMA!