LARGO, FL. (November 26, 2012) – After 22 years of service to Valpak and Cox Target Media, Jim Sampey has announced his retirement as Chief Operating Officer of the company by the end of the year.

Since joining Valpak in 1990, Sampey has held senior leadership positions in virtually every area of the company. In recent years, Sampey, 52, has led marketing, sales training, national sales and franchise network development teams to enhance the Valpak brand presence in the marketplace. His leadership on USPS legislative matters took him to the nation’s capital, where he testified to Congress on behalf of the company.

“Jim has been a driving force with Valpak for two decades, providing vision and dedication to our company,” said Michael Vivio, president of Cox Target Media, which owns Valpak. ”His extensive knowledge and understanding of the business has earned him the respect of employees and franchisees. His efforts over the past 22 years have built a strong team to continue so many of the positive programs that make the Valpak brand what it is today We thank him for the passion and commitment to all that Valpak stands for.”

During his Valpak career, Sampey led the national sales staff in building Valpak’s reputation as a large scale retailer in direct response, franchising and national sales to complement Valpak’s strong local presence.

Sampey was the facilitator leading employee teams on change management, continuous improvement, quality management, and organizational design in manufacturing, customer service, IT, sales and marketing.

During this time, and throughout his career, a common denominator in Sampey’s leadership style is the word “team.” “Jim’s passion for collaboration and bringing teams together to find common ground and solutions will be his legacy,’’ said Vivio.

In his second decade with the company, Sampey oversaw huge transitions in the operations departments – moving the focus to be customer centric. He oversaw efforts by multiple teams to consolidate three production facilities in Las Vegas, Elm City, NC, and Largo, and lead the redevelopment of Valpak’s manufacturing processes utilizing world class best business practices in building a state-of-the-art Valpak Manufacturing Center in St. Petersburg, FL – one of the most automated print facilities in the world.

“It’s been an amazing ride and I can’t imagine a better journey anywhere,” said Sampey. “I am truly grateful to the leadership team at Cox Target Media, and proud of the entire team of amazing employees and Valpak franchisees.”

The same passion Sampey had for the company carries over to the community, where he has been a true spirit leader to encourage employees in giving back to the community and many charitable causes.

He inspired employees to do more, give more and be more, and always did so himself, rolling up his sleeves at any chance. As the sponsor of the company’s volunteer organization – The Blue Crew – he led employees to sign up for this year’s United Way Day of Caring, with 150 employees volunteering at the Happy Workers Children’s Center in St. Petersburg. In the past two years, he inspired and encouraged employees to make food donations to the NALC’s Annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive by filling up his entire office with boxes and cans of food.

In retirement, Sampey and his wife, Carol, plan to spend more time with their three children – Jimmy, Ryan and Rachel – and their parents, and devote more time to their community work.

Sampey will continue his relationships with charitable organizations he developed while at Valpak with groups such as The United Way of the Suncoast, The Tampa Bay Partnership, American Heart Association, Religious Community Services (RCS), University of South Florida and SunTrust Bank.

About Valpak®

Valpak, one of the leading direct marketing companies in North America, is owned and operated by Cox Target Media, along with Savings.com. With nearly 170 franchises across the United States and Canada, the signature Blue Envelope® delivers savings and value to nearly 40 million households each month. Annually, Valpak will distribute some 20 billion offers inserted in more than 500 million envelopes. Valpak also offers digital solutions with www.Valpak.com®, an online site for printable coupons, e-commerce and coupon codes, which has nearly 70 million offer views each month, as well as apps for smartphone platforms For more information about advertising with Valpak, please contact 1-800-676-6878.

About Cox Media Group

Cox Media Group is an integrated broadcasting, publishing, direct marketing and digital media company that includes the national advertising rep firms of Cox Reps. Additionally, CMG owns and operates Cox Target Media, providers of Valpak, a leading North American direct marketing company and Savings.com, a leading online coupon site and community. With $1.7 billion in revenue, the company operations include 15 broadcast television stations and one local cable channel, 86 radio stations, eight daily newspapers and more than a dozen non-daily publications, and more than 100 digital services. CMG operates in more than 30 media markets and reaches approximately 52 million Americans weekly, including 30 million TV viewers, more than 4 million print and online newspaper readers, and 18 million radio listeners. For more information about Cox Media Group, please check us out online at www.coxmediagroup.com.

Contacts

Marsha Strickhouser
Valpak
(727) 399-3175
marsha_strickhouser@valpak.com