PHOTO: Michael Metzger, Michael Metzger & Staff, Inc. - Events.org

By the time you read this, Pete DePerte, Vogue Printers (820 S.Northpoint Boulevard, Waukegan) will have received a very specialdelivery—a new five-color, 40" Heidelberg press with coater. Voguecontinues to expand in order to accommodate such major corporate clientsas Abbott Labs and Brunswick…and the Highland Park Chamber ofCommerce. (Vogue prints, binds and addresses this magazine.)“Our new 30,000 square footfacility provides great exposure andgives us the opportunity to create anefficient workflow plant layout,” Petepoints out. A high-end commercialprinter specializing in marketingmaterials, advertising, direct mail andproduct literature, Vogue can alsoproduce short-run black-and-white ordigital color printing for the smallbusiness user, as well as variable datalasering, inkjet addressing, inserts andmailings.“Our desire is to offer acomplete, comprehensive prepress department, and our professionals arediligent in troubleshooting file errors and correcting them before they canbecome really costly for clients.”You may have seen Pete at recent Chamber golf outings or a Bearshome game, but if you love the smell of ink on paper, give him a call.Vogue Printers can be reached at 847-578-1800, or visit its website atwww.vogueprinters.com.“Show me the…credit card!” Local retailers who are looking for more waysto compete for customers while making the purchase process a smooth,effortless event, should talk with First Data’s Adam Kaplan, at 2616Roslyn Circle, in HP. Working in conjunction with FDIS, (an independentagent of First Data, and also an established leader and innovator in thepayment processing industry), Adam’s company provides flexible, robust10 / Spring 2007and secure products and services that enablemerchants to accept nearly all types ofelectronic payments including Mastercard, Visa,AmEx, Discover, Telecheck Check Guaranteeand ATM placement.“It feels great when we’re able to help anew business owner wade through thecomplex payment pricing to save on standardcredit card processing fees that would normallycut deeply into profits. A typical shop ownerdepends on ‘foot traffic,’ which calls for onecredit-card processing rate; later on, withinternet and phone sales, the processing rateshould change. This is where I come in, to save them from continuing to becharged that same high initial rate,” Adam points out. To find out moreabout payment processing options, contact him at 847-266-1220, or visitthe website at www.csini.com.“FOCUS on the Arts was in its early years when I was at HighlandPark High, but it was the only event everyone wanted to be part of. Thatand lunch,” recalls Robert Keats, class of ’71, who later moved to LosAngeles to become a writer/producer for movies and television. AboutHPHS, Keats remembers, “Back then, more students went to the seniorlounge than to prom. In fact, more students went to the senior lounge thanto class. But FOCUS was always a hit.”It’s approaching time for the biennial FOCUS on the Arts, with OpeningNight Monday, April 16, followed by Art Night on Tuesday and Dance onWednesday. Watch the FOCUS website for updates and ticket information,dist113.org/hphs/focus.htm or email HPHSFocus@dist113.org.Keats is just one of many FOCUS alums to have gone on to careers aswriters, producers or actors, including writers Steve Zacharias, Mark Victor,Brian Levant, actor Gary Sinise and several “Second City” and SaturdayNight Live performers. Keats moved to Hollywood to become anindependent script-writer for movies and TV, with credits including LucilleBall’s last weekly show, the Ellen Burstyn Show, Blansky’s Beauties andQuark, as well as co-scripting several movies. “Good writing was fiercelyencouraged and taught by practically every English teacher at HighlandPark. We weren’t always a football or baseball powerhouse, but we coulddefinitely out-write the rest of the Suburban League!” Actually, Keats alsoregards the school nurses as literary muses. “We were taught the value of awell-crafted excuse—a skill I still use to this day.” You can email Robert atKeatsFilms@aol.com, but he probably won’t respond.(continued on page 12)