Team | Testimonials

Susan Evenson and Jason Benias – Bison Transport

From start to finish, Friesens was always professional and met our every need. When considering who we should use to print Bison’s 50th anniversary book, we kept hearing, “Consider using Friesens, they are the best!” So of course, we reached out to Friesens and it was Carey Kehler who responded. Carey took us through the process with ease and even though we have never made a book before, it came out looking first-class. Through the process, we even got to see our book on the press! What an experience it was to see what goes on behind the scenes before getting a physical copy in our hands. Craftsmanship and attention to detail is definitely a skill in this industry. It was also a pleasure to see the happy people that worked there, you can tell the culture at Friesens is one to be admired.

We asked, and Friesens delivered a superior product. A product that we were proud to hand out to our fellow employees. Thank you Friesens for making us feel like a priority project!

 

Vern Phillips – Family History Book

It seems such a short time ago, September 21, 2018, that we met to discuss our family history book and now, Saturday, September 28th (2019) is our book launch. I have read over the proofs and Shirley and Jean have looked at the finished product and are very satisfied with the history book.

So once again we would like to thank you for the work done and wish you all the success in the future.

Charlie Lieberman – American Society of Cinematographers

As a member of the American Society of Cinematographers, I offered to create a book of historical photographs as part of our Centennial Year celebration. It was my first experience in the publishing universe and Friesens was supremely supportive in guiding me through the entire process. They were patient with my neophyte questions and their excellent staff techs walked me through the job at every stage. The photographs were beautifully printed with superb detail and tonal range. They also met our tight deadline for the book introduction at our Centennial Gala. We can’t thank you enough.

Lavona Susinski, Shirley Kalyniuk – Ewanyshyn Family History

Friesens just published our book that updated the Ewanyshyn Family History. We found the staff very knowledgeable and professional from concept to conclusion, flexible and innovative when presented with a challenge. Friesens offers a vast array of paper quality, covers, and bindings.  Our one disappointment was not knowing, far enough in advance, the number of pages we still had available to fill with photos, instead of having blank pages at the end of the book. Should the occasion arise, we would certainly go back to Friesens for other publications.

Winnie Pitz – St. John’s Orthodox Church of Shell Valley

We were very pleased with the 400 copies of the photo book you recently printed for our church’s centennial. The staff were very professional and always courteous. They kept us informed throughout the entire process; promptly answered our questions and were very accommodating. A pleasure to work with. We highly recommend your printing services.

Albert Siemens – Whisky Sales and Hotel Tales of the Mennonite West Reserve 1873-1916

I would like to thank you and Friesen’s for helping to get my thoughts on the subject of my book from written word to printed book- a step which I approached with great trepidation but which you personally and others at Friesen’s smoothly facilitated. What I received was the high-quality product which I had sought. It is with great satisfaction I can now present it.

 

Greg Marshall – U of Western Mustangs/London “A 50 Year History of Western Football”

Our group received outstanding service from start to finish from Friesens.  The finished quality of our book was A1.  The “hands on” involvement throughout the process made it easy for us, especially because we had no previous experience printing a book.

Janel Schmitz – Bank of North Dakota

Friesens was an incredible business partner to print our book,  “The Bank of North Dakota: From Surviving to Thriving.” For us, a project like this took on a life of its own. The importance of documenting the first 100 years of the only state-owned bank in the country felt a bit overwhelming at times. We wanted a printer who cared as much about the book as we did. With Friesens, that is exactly what we received. Carey Kehler is one of the most conscientious consultants I’ve ever worked with. We received frequent updates, were invited to watch our first pages come off the press which was thrilling, and have received rave reviews about the quality. Publishing this book was one of the highlights of my career, and working with the professional and competent staff at Friesens contributed to the experience. I highly recommend them for any book publishing needs.

Alec McPherson – “Hythe’s Hockey History”

I have recently compiled a book of the history of our hockey team – the Hythe Mustangs. I was apprehensive at first of even printing it as I wasn’t sure how it would be received. I obtained the information for contacting Jim Beckel in the History Book Division at Friesens Printing and after talking to him I was more at ease in regards to having a batch printed. Also, talking to Lynda Hiebert at the plant was a boost to my confidence as she sent me samples of the draft and helped to make sure I was satisfied with the end product.
  
The response from the community has been overwhelming and I have had so many compliments, not only on the content but also the quality of printing. I have sold many more than I expected and I think it helped that I was able to sell them at an affordable price.
  
I have had a lot of fun gathering the material and people were very generous in loaning me their albums and sharing stories of the past. All in all it has been a great experience that I would encourage others to try, and I highly recommend Friesens for getting your printing done.

Suzanne Jackson – Gleichen and District Historical Society

From the beginning, the two communities that were involved were very supportive of our project, Memories Recalled – The District of Cluny and Gleichen 2014. Many were thankful that a few of us would be willing to tackle this endeavour. I attribute the overwhelming success to four very important factors.

The first factor was that we had a very dedicated group of seven women, who from the outset, were determined to see the project through to the very end. The second factor was the organization and research required to manage a project like this. We had access to a large space with tables and filing cabinets, keeping everything under lock and key. We were able to organize the submissions, the computer copies and photos easily. The third factor was applying for financial help to subsidize the cost of a book. The final factor was our pre-ordering system. People could pre-pay a deposit on the number of books they wished to order. We also mailed out order forms to those that no longer lived in the area. When it was time to go to print, we had a clear idea of the number of books needed.

We organized a book launch with a beautiful supper, music and speeches by local dignitaries. The ceremony and book reveal was very well received by the communities and surrounding area. The folks attending had only to pay the balance owing and pick up their books and envelopes with their submissions and photos. The rest of the orders were mailed out.

After the launch, we received letters, phone calls and many compliments on our history book and just how beautiful it was. We deemed the project a huge success! We are very proud of our history book and the valuable resource it will be for generations to come.

Judith Theroux – Cliff Bungalow

As the project coordinator of our community history book, I was involved in all phases of the book from initial planning to book launch and ongoing sales. Although having worked in project management, I had never been involved in a “book” project, so the entire project was a delightful and rewarding “learning experience.” I worked closely with both the author and designer as well as key members of our community association. In response to publicity on the community web-site, many people contacted me, some to offer their help as volunteers, others to recount their childhood experiences growing up in the community. Imagine my surprise when one gentleman gave me his childhood address which is now my current address, his family home having been replaced many years ago with the condominium building that I now live in. I also consulted and made presentations to members of the francophone, Jewish, and Roman Catholic communities whose forbears played a major role in our community’s beginnings.

Both the writing and the design of the book have been widely praised, with comments from community leaders such as: “your book is beautiful,” “among the best I have ever seen…dealing with community histories,” “a great resource for anyone with an interest in not only the Cliff Bungalow-Mission area, but in Calgary as a whole.” The first printing of the book sold out within 10 weeks and sales of the second printing are in progress.

Beth Elhard – “Beavertales From Castor”

Beavertales from Castor & District was a labour of love. A previous book had been published in the early seventies and it was time for a new one. The committee received many heart-warming stories and more importantly, our history was preserved for future generations. Friesens publishing was excellent to work with – no matter how many times I called or e-mailed Jim Beckel, the representative, he was pleasant, patient and helpful with our questions. We sold out and went to reprint and the books are almost gone. Had a wonderful book launch before Christmas, which was our objective that year, as people purchased for gifts.

Mistakes were made and if I can add anything it would be to double, triple check everything. But it gives one a great sense of accomplishment when I hear someone say “I will look it up in Beavertales!”

Rick Pallister – Lacombe History Book

If any of you folks are thinking about publishing memoirs, history books, anything of that nature, I’d highly recommend one of your first calls be to Friesens. We would have saved an enormous amount of time had we know about Jim [Beckel] and his company sooner.