Our Story

​By Tamara Gorman

   A little more than 30 years ago, The Clipper had just launched under its original name The Gold Clipper; today we’ve published 730 issues and well over 150,000 effective ads. These noteworthy milestones reflect our continued commitment to playing an important role in our local economy and creating significant impact on the success of small and large businesses alike.
    It has been said that “good  advertising builds sales, but great advertising builds factories.” It is our purpose at The Clipper to do  advertising that works and reaches beyond sales. It is to reach in to many facets of our client’s companies and position it for success. It is to help create brands that not only meet needs but help people feel connected. In other words, our role is to build and grow businesses while providing fun, quality information and savings to our El Dorado County neighbors, friends, and loyal readers.
    Throughout our 30 years, we’ve had the pleasure of working with  everything from century-old family owned businesses to newborn start-ups to some of the biggest brands in the world. The one thing we have found to be consistent in these very diverse companies is how rewarding it is to know that our team has contributed to local jobs and affected real change by keeping business local and in return creating a financially stronger community. And, that is what drives us every day to push beyond good advertising and to create great advertising one ad at a time.
WHERE WE’VE BEEN
    From excruciatingly long work weeks and old-school cut and paste printing to a couple of major economic recessions to watching competing publications come and go, The Clipper has not only survived them all but is happily thriving.
    In 1989, our CEO and Founder, Leigh Ann Kielty, started The Clipper to spotlight local businesses that sustain the area communities. With Kelly Baetge in charge of graphic design and the production department, we often worked an exhausting yet thrilling 80+ hours a week to meet deadlines.
    We have fond memories of the early days when we had a standing order for a 26-foot rental truck. We personally delivered The Clipper (and still do) to every post office from El Dorado Hills to Pollock Pines – lugging and delivering a truckload of paper and negotiating stop signs at tricky intersections along the way. Of course having never driven a truck that big, more than one stop sign met its demise during those deliveries, but we learned quickly! Looking back, we remember the stressful times of running a start-up business as some of the toughest we have ever endured, and yet they were also some of the most creative and fulfilling years of our lives.
WHERE WE’RE HEADED
    After 30 years, we’re happy to have earned a high level of trust and recognition. Our success has always been and will continue to be based solely on the success of our advertisers. We are the most effective and consistent advertising tool for helping businesses grow and succeed in El Dorado County. Think about it. Like a faithful friend, we have been coming to your home twice a month for over 30 years.
    Throughout our journey, we have helped the community by employing over 700 people from El Dorado County. Of those 700 employees, 600 were local high school students being given an opportunity to obtain work experience. Today, we have been fortunate enough to build an exceptional core team of strong individuals who share common values and have a compatible work ethic.
    In addition to our incredible employees, we continue to strive for excellence in maintaining our publication as the largest and most powerful in the county with a total circulation of over 51,000 and a total readership of over 130,000. As the county’s largest direct mail publication, we pay postage and mail The Clipper to every home and business from El Dorado Hills to areas beyond Pollock Pines.
    While The Clipper is our premiere product, we also have expanded our graphic design and printing division called The Mail Room. We create, design and print anything from 
business cards and logos, brochures, banners, letters and solo mailing postcards to magnets, invitations and newsletters. We know how to design ads that work and produce direct mail campaigns that get results. For solo mailing campaigns, we make it easy. From creative ad layout, graphic design and copywriting, to printing and putting your postcards in the mail, we do it all! Plus, we can do it for less!
    Our one common goal is to pull together and produce influential advertising campaigns and a powerful publication that serves the community in the best way possible. By creating successful advertising campaigns built around the elements of frequency, consistency and patience, we build public awareness of our client’s products and services and offer ways to make our readers’ lives better.
    We will continue to promote local businesses and serve our readership by providing more great offers and savings, community events, puzzles, contests, and interesting stories, and our wildly popular Happy/Grumpy Ads for years to come.
GENERATION AFTER GENERATION STRONG
It takes a family to raise a child, and The Clipper has been and still is our baby. We are family here at The Clipper and most of our team has been with us for almost two decades, and some longer. We’ve stuck together through lean years and tough times, in times of celebration and despair but always in support of each other.
    Just simply knowing that someone is there for you in a moment of need, whether it be to lend a helping hand or remind you of the greatness inside you, is the foundation and culture of our publication. But even going beyond culture, we know we are a part of something special here, which fills us with a sense of pride and emotional connection. We are a team that focuses on meeting people’s needs and our client’s goals every hour of every day.
    Many of our clients that you see in this anniversary issue, have been with us from the beginning. We have watched their kids grow up along with ours, get married, and have kids of their own. We have formed relationships out of purpose, commitment and immense appreciation – relationships that have turned into a lifetime friendships. Together, we are nurturing and building a better future and generations of adults who will go on to build strong community with their friends and neighbors.
    We are grateful to our loyal El Dorado County readership. Without
the wonderful people of who are looking for quality goods and services, our publication wouldn’t exist. As we celebrate our 30th Anniversary, we wish to say, “Thank you for making these 30 years possible!”

“A man who stops advertising to save money is like a man who stops a clock to save time.”
 ~Henry Ford