MANSFIELD, Ohio—The end of 2014 marked the end of an era as DRM Productions Co-Founder, Bob Jones, retired after 30 years of service. A retirement celebration was held in his honor Thursday, seeing attendance from many previous and current DRM employees, as well as other businesspersons in the community.
Jones has been a fixture in Mansfield’s technology and videography industry. He, along with Dave Damron and Mike Greene, helped launch DRM Productions, Inc. 30 years ago in a basement with an original investment of $50,000.
DRM is a full-service electronic media and print design firm. Their creative team is experienced in video, animation, web design, programming, graphic design, print, and digital signage.
In the three decades since its establishment, DRM has produced more than a thousand commercials, hundreds of corporate sales and marketing programs and countless DVDs.
Although Jones will be missed, he’s leaving behind a significant legacy.
Interestingly, Jones never anticipated having a career in media. A native of Marietta, Jones studied film and theatre at Ohio University’s Lancaster Campus and later at Denison University in Granville.
“I’ve always loved theatre,” he said. “Always.”
After he graduated from college in 1975, he moved to California with his wife, Dee Jones. For about four years, he worked in Los Angeles at the May Company. In 1979, they moved back to Mansfield, and he got a job at Lumbermens Mutual Insurance Company.
It was at Lumbermens that he became friends with Damron, who also worked for the insurance company. Damron decided in 1983 to form his own multi-media company called “Sight and Sound Productions.”
A year later, Jones left Lumbermens and joined Damron and Greene to form DRM.
Greene remembered the humble beginnings of DRM, noting that the business first launched in a basement. He thought it interesting how the company has progressed, saying, “When we first started, we mainly did video, but it’s well-beyond that now.”
On a similar note, Damron said of the business, “It’s hard to believe the number of things we’ve done over the last 30 years.”
Damron worked closely with Jones for over three decades. He described their business relationship as a marriage and said, “It’s sad to see it end.” He added, “I wish him the best. I know he wants to keep active, so I hope he finds what he’s looking for and can have fun with it.”
Jay Miller, software designer at DRM, shared, “It’s been great working with Bob. Coming on board I had limited video experience (with a background in programming), and he did an amazing job getting me up to speed.”
He further stated, “The number of local nonprofits that he’s helped get their message out over the years is amazing. I can’t image the number of people that got help they needed because of a message that he helped get out. Also, the change in the technology over the last 30 years and being able to keep up with that change was no easy task.”
At the retirement celebration, many people took turns sharing amusing stories and fond memories of the past. Among those who spoke was Deborah Schenk, President and CEO of Mechanics Bank. Schenk, who has done business with DRM for several years, called Damron and Jones “models for entrepreneurship.”
“They were willing to put everything they had into making their dream a reality,” she commented.
In addition to his work at DRM, Jones served at the 179th Airlift Wing for close to 30 years. He served in the public relations and broadcasting department. He retired a few years ago with the rank of master sergeant.
With his wife of 41 years, he has two daughters, Katie Vidourek and Sara Oehrig, and seven grandchildren.
Greene commented, “Besides his work, I’ve always admired him as a great family man…He’s been able to meld work and family life together without losing track of either one and I think that’s impressive.”
As for future plans, Jones intends to sell life insurance with Western-Southern Life Insurance in Ontario. He said he wanted to continue working and this opportunity presented itself, so he accepted. But he doesn’t anticipate completely separating from DRM, as he will continue to do freelance work with them.
