Print Express owner Dave Haugom (back left) has rejoined his employees (from left) Nicole Willers, Tammy Barnhart, Kyle Woodley and Michelle Haack at the Main Street business.By Lori EhdeCapt. Dave Haugom is still getting used to civilian life after returning from his six-month National Guard deployment in Italy."It was very overwhelming to be back in town," he said Tuesday.Haugom, Luverne, is a member of Battery A, 125th Field Artillery, which returned the Luverne and Pipestone units on March 17.But, as an officer, Haugom was deployed with the New Ulm unit of the 125th, and didn’t return to the states until last week."To live the life we did for that long, and transitioning back to civilian life is overwhelming," he said."It’s like we were plucked out of the world we had been living in and plopped back into the world we left seven months prior."For Haugom, the adjustment involves not only reacquainting with family and community, it’s meant picking up the pieces of a small business he left behind last summer.Haugom owns Print Express, a screenprinting and embroidery business on Main Street, Luverne.He left the business in the hands of his faithful employees, Tammy Barnhart, Luverne, and Michelle Haack, Jasper, and returned last week to find they had managed well without him."I wasn’t worried at all," said Haugom, who tried to prepare his employees with instruction lists and helpful hints."I just finally said, ‘What can I do?’ I knew I had good people here."He said e-mail was a valuable tool for trouble-shooting across the globe, but he had a demanding schedule with his duties, too, so his Print Express involvement became secondary."It was a regular job," Haugom said about his security responsibilities while on the active duty base. However, he said the hours were long, and it was difficult to be away from his family.Meanwhile, back at the shop, Barnhart and Haack made the difficult transition from part-time employees to full-time co-managers.Barnhart was technically in charge, from the business standpoint of handling bills, accounts and payroll. But both women said managing the shop without the boss was a life-changing experience that had both rewards and costs."We learned to make decisions and live with the consequences. … He could only write down so much before he left," Haack said."We are really proud of ourselves."They found themselves putting their work ahead of their families, especially during the busy holiday retail season, which often required nearly 60-hour work weeks.Barnhart said it was interesting to monitor small business cash flow."I learned how expensive it is to run a business," she said. "Just when you think you have money, you have to pay the bills."Back room heroesBarnhart and Haack quickly learned to accept help when it was offered.For example Luverne’s Randy Schneekloth, who works in Sioux Falls, volunteered to deliver Print Express orders to Sioux Falls clients."That helped us out a lot," Barnhart said. "We couldn’t afford another person gone."They said planning ahead for the holiday rush also paid off, because customers were alerted to get their orders in early, and most people were understanding of the constraints of Print Express being short-staffed.In addition, the business leaned heavily on its young high school employees.Kyle Woodley, in particular, became a quiet back-room hero for the business, performing nearly all of Haugom’s screen-printing responsibilities.The Luverne High School junior found himself working 30 to 50 hour weeks, in addition to bringing his grade-point average from a 2.8 to a 3.6 honor roll status."We were thankful Mr. (Gary) Fisher (high school principal) allowed Kyle to have work release starting in September," Barnhart said. That’s a privilege most students don’t get until later in the year. "That helped us out a lot."High School student Nicole Willers was hired to help Woodley a couple hours per day after school with screen printing. She also picked up odd jobs around the shop that others didn’t have time to do. Overall, Barnhart said the experience was rewarding, but it was essentially a lesson in survival, and all the employees are relieved to have their boss back at the helm.From Haugom’s perspective, he said his employees showed remarkable dedication, he’s grateful for their efforts."Nobody asked for that kind of responsibility, but they did well," Haugom said.
