Beloved and admired by family, friends and business associates alike, husband and wife, Allan and Debbie Creel, are the proud owners of Creel Printing. They prove that family members can all work together in harmony and finish at the very top through strong teamwork and dedication.
"My mother and father moved to Las Vegas in 1953," happily recalls Allan Creel. "My father was associated with the Hollywood Park and Santa Anita racetracks. He grew up in the business, printing programs for them for many years. The owners expanded to Las Vegas and started a new racetrack. It didn’t work out, so my dad created his own printing business here."
Back then, Las Vegas High School was the only high school in town, and Creel graduated with the class of 1955. At the time, there were only a few hotels on the Strip, including the El Rancho, Flamingo, Bingo Club, Silver Slipper, Last Frontier and the Desert Inn.
"When the Desert Inn opened during the mid-1950s, I played a lot of golf," Allan said. "When the country club was built, I was one of the original members. All the stars played there, from Jack Nicklaus to Arnold Palmer.
"In those golden years, the Desert Inn stood over the fabulous Strip as the queen. She never slept and her throne was the Sky Room. It was the days of the Rat Pack – Dean, Frank, Sammy, Jerry and the whole gang. We were entertained by the greatest, from Betty Grable to Harry James. I even saw Howard Hughes shooting dice there one night while I worked my summer job in the Garden Room."
Turning back from nostalgia for a bit, the printing business grew over time, Allan recalls. "In 1970, my dad passed away. At that point, we had about 20 to 30 employees in the business, with one shift running from one building. Today, we have over 400 employees working three shifts, 24/7."
Over the past 50 years, Creel Printing has grown into the largest printing company in Nevada and one of the leading printers within the Southwest. Their newest plant features a 206,000-square-foot facility on 11 acres, which is an industry leader, plus their plant in La Mesa, California. Creel Printing is known as a top catalog and magazine publication printer specializing in the convention business as well as in the printing of such top pubs as Showbiz Weekly and Vegas magazine.
Debbie Creel is the other half of the team who contributes strong balance with staying power. "We have a very highly-talented group of people who work here," states Debbie. "Most have been with us for a very long time. We have a low turnover, and we try to promote from within. We’ve stayed up-to-date on all the new technologies and I think all this has contributed greatly to our success."
Education is important to the Creels, who have been active in the Meadows School, a top Las Vegas-based college preparatory school, where both their children graduated. The Creels were instrumental in the inception of the Creel Football Field at Meadows. Allan Creel Jr. has followed in the family footsteps as a sales leader with Creel Printing. Time will tell if their daughter Heidi, a recent Georgetown graduate, is to follow Creel family tradition into the printing business.
Relatives who work together can also prosper together. Allan and Debbie Creel have proven it works. For more than a half-century, Creel Printing and its close-knit family of key employees continue to meet nonstop deadlines and build one of the largest and most respected businesses in Nevada.
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Beloved and admired by family, friends and business associates alike, husband and wife, Allan and Debbie Creel, are the proud owners of Creel Printing. They prove that family members can all work together in harmony and finish at the very top through strong teamwork and dedication.
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