NORMANITE IN THE SPOTLIGHT Randy Hooper

Among the photos hanging inside Hooper Printing Co. are two that look quite similar, capturing some of the history of this family-owned business.

There’s one of Garl Hooper and his son, Charles, posing outside their new building in 1957. Just above that sits a second of Charles and his son, Randy, standing in the same spot 55 years later.

After graduating from the University of Oklahoma with a management degree, Randy Hooper started working fulltime with his dad in 1980 and has been with the business ever since. Following Charles’ passing last year, Hooper has continued at the helm of the company that began nearly 70 years ago.

The Hoopers originally opened their business on West Main Street in August 1950, relocating just around the corner to the current location at 301 West Gray St. in 1957.

The dairy business receives much of the credit for helping the family get its start in printing, Hooper shared. At the time, all ice cream cartons looked the same, with the flavors imprinted on the container. Garl, his wife, Alberta, and Charles took on the task of labeling the cartons, and from there, their business continued to grow.

Before coming to Norman in 1947, the Hoopers were newspaper people, running a weekly paper in Hugo, Oklahoma. Garl and Alberta moved to Norman while their son served in the U.S. Army. Upon his return from Europe, Charles joined them in their new town. Charles later met his wife, Claudette Cornelison, in Norman, and they were married for 65 years.

This background in the newspaper business is what led the Hoopers to printing. As offset printers, that side of the business has not changed dramatically over the years. Instead, the biggest changes have been seen in pre-press like the graphics components and digital work, Hooper explained.

“They were hand setting type back in the early days, so we’ve lived through all the phases from handset type to hot lead for Linotype machines then offset printing,” Hooper said. “Many things we can still do effectively with the old offset as long as we can keep these old presses running.”

Common jobs completed at Hooper Printing are letterhead, envelopes, business cards, carbonless forms and numbered forms and finishing work for some of the smaller copy shops in town. Hooper said they also do a lot of work for car dealers, churches and schools, including the Thursday folders for Norman Public Schools.

Having lived in Norman his entire life, Hooper has established strong connections in the community, both personal and professional. He has been a member of the Norman Business Association for 30 years and is part of the Rotary Club of Norman. In the past, Hooper also served on the hospital board, the board for the Norman Chamber of Commerce and the University of Oklahoma Alumni Board, just to name some of his involvement.

At OU, Hooper played on the men’s golf team. During the summers, he headed to Florida to teach at Arnold Palmer’s golf school. In his free time, Hooper still enjoys golfing and also likes to fish.

“I like to say the only people I’ve ever worked for are Charlie Hooper and Arnold Palmer,” Hooper said with a laugh.

He and his wife, Pam, who also holds a degree from OU and was an honors student in education, will celebrate their 36th anniversary in October. Before Pam finished school, she was working at the courthouse, which is a place for which Hooper does a lot of printing. He noticed Pam there and finally got the nerve to call her and ask her on a date. The couple has three children, Logan, Clayton and Shannon – all also OU graduates – and one daughter-in-law Kelley, who is married to Clayton.

Although the printing business can be a tough one, Hooper said Norman has been good to his family and made a lot of other things possible for them too.

He emphasized that small business is important and most of Hooper Printing’s work is local.

“We depend on Norman small business, and we try to trade with the people that trade with us,” Hooper stated. “That’s what I enjoy doing, that and helping small business owners save money on products. We’re very competitive in what we do because of the years we’ve been doing it, there’s really no overhead to speak of.”

Even before attending college, Hooper helped with the family’s various ventures, including real estate and owning the marinas on Lake Thunderbird, and he knew he wanted to officially join the family business after college. The Hoopers still do work in other areas too, such as operating a property company and serving as a managing partner of a farm south of Norman. However, as it has always been, printing is still the primary focus for Hooper.

“Every day starts and ends here at the printing company, and I plan to continue this.” – BSM