Today, April 29, 2016 is our friend, co-worker, and partner-in-crime Gary Junken’s last day here at the Taunton Press. Over the past 16 years, Gary has been the heart and soul of the video department, shooting and editing countless videos for Fine Woodworking, Fine Homebuilding, Threads, Fine Cooking, and Fine Gardening. 

When I started here in January, it became quickly apparent that Gary was by far the most beloved and cherished person in the Taunton universe. Watching Gary walk down the hall is like watching the Fonz in the opening of Happy Days, everyone making sure to say hello and get a wave from Gary. My first real interaction with Gary was on a trip he, Matt Kenney, and I made to Petaluma, Calif., to shoot a video workshop. Both Matt and I started to feel silly when at the end of the day we were beat and 73-year-old Gary was ready for more. I’ve never met anyone with as much endurance and energy, let alone someone who had almost 40 years on me. 

When Gary started working professionally it was behind a black-and-white camera, but you wouldn’t know that to watch him shoot and edit video with today’s cutting-edge technology. In this industry, making sure you keep up with technology is important but Gary never lost sight of what was most important, making sure the information was clear and easy to understand. There is an art to making instructional videos not only, well, instructional but entertaining. If there is a book on the subject, Gary should have written it. If there isn’t, Gary, get on it. I’ll be the first in line for a copy.

My fellow web producers here at Taunton sent me the pictures you see above. We thought about trying to get quotes about Gary from everyone here at Taunton but quickly realized it would get overwhelming too quickly. So in short: Gary, we love you and thanks. We’ll keep trying to make you proud and I know I’ll constantly be asking myself, “What would Gary do?”

Launch Gallery