By Norb Garrett
Every successful team has superstars who avoid the headlines—those who toil behind the scenes to make the final product look great.
We’re no different here at Picket Fence Media, as you’ve learned from earlier columns in which I’ve written about folks such as Tim Trent, our hyper-dependable local delivery man.
Another person who deserves recognition for her important contribution to our team is PFM Production Manager Inna Cazares.
Inna has been our production manager since 2020, starting just a month after the COVID-19 pandemic shut the world down. I’ve known Inna since 2000, when she had worked with me as a production manager while I was president of The Enthusiast Network’s Action Sports Group (2000-2003; 2010-2020), running iconic action sports brands such as Surfer, Powder, Bike, TransWorld Skateboarding and many more.
(Coincidentally, Inna worked with PFM Associate Publisher Lauralyn Loynes for many of those years, as LL was the group production manager at Surfer Publications.)
In fact, Inna served for 35 years for the many ownership iterations after answering a job posting in the PennySaver for an Assistant to the Publisher at Powder Magazine back in 1985.
“The job sounded like something I would like to do,” said Inna, who was born and raised in the shadow of Dodger Stadium in Echo Park, the first-generation U.S.-born daughter of Russian immigrants.
“I ended up working for Surfer for 35 years,” said Inna, who was born a fluent Russian speaker and learned English in school. “I moved into several positions during that time, first in Circulation as a subscription supervisor and then a shop manager. When Surfer Publications was sold, I was given the opportunity to continue with Surfer as an ad coordinator and worked my way to production manager. I oversaw the production of the magazine from start to finish. Then the company was bought out again, and I was laid off.”
Inna is an amazing employee and an even nicer person. She and her husband, David, celebrated 43 years of marriage at the end of April and have two adult children: Athena and Mike.
She works remotely these days, as she and her husband moved to a small town near Sequoia National Forest during the pandemic, where they enjoy walks in the woods with their dog, Winston.
“I am lucky to work with talented people that are good at what they do,” said Inna, when reflecting on what she likes most about her job. “As a team, we all bring something different to the papers.”
It truly takes a team to do what we do, day in and day out!
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