John Charles Caffrey

After graduating from CKM, I decided to take a year off from school. Took a part-time job washing dishes in cafeteria at DMV.
Received my AA Degree in Business and Bookkeeping at Sacramento City College in January, 1973.
After working at Fletcher's Pharmacy for 10 months, I was hired at The Sacramento Union newspaper in November of 1973. Following 10 months of duty in the Service Department, where I delivered proofs/tearsheets to advertisers, I accepted a position in the Accounting Office in August of 1974.
I spent eight years doing collection work before becoming an outside sales rep.
Toward the end of 1982, a friend at the paper was seriously considering starting a bi-weekly financial newspaper. He asked me to assist him. I have to say that was one of the toughest decisions of my life...to leave the job security, benefits, etc. of the Union to try and get a small publication off the ground.
Not being very happy in sales, I decided to make the jump. My friend and I made a success of putting together a newspaper called the California Financial Register. We set up stands in various stores, banks and savings and loans. The publication was free...our revenue was strickly from advertising.
Seeing how lucrative we had become, the Union made us an offer to purchase our publication. The newspaper was renamed Moneyweek and was included in the Sunday edition.
So, back to the Union I went to become an Editorial Assistant. In August of 1986, I was appointed Special Sections Editor.
In March of 1989, I decided to make a change and took a Managing Editor position at Senior Spectrum Newspapers. I was in charge of two publications - the Murieta Times and Gold River Times.
However, in May of 1994 Senior Spectrum Newspapers closed. But, I wasn't out of work long. I became a Relay Agent with Sprint around the middle of May.
After 11 months of helping the hearing and speech impaired, I was offered a job to run the office of Fleishman Hillard International Communications in Sacramento. Following nearly 14 years of service, I was laid off in late January.
However, in early February I hooked on with the Sacramento River Cats at Raley Field. I enjoyed a great summer working ball games and concerts (anybody heard of Lady Gaga?).