WATERLOO -- After 40 years, Dave Buck has retired.

That doesn't mean he has stopped working.

In fact, the longtime president of Matt Parrott & Sons Co., the oldest locally owned company in the Cedar Valley, still shows up at the office at least once a week, even after he officially retired May 30. The company gave him a formal send-off with an open house Friday at its offices on Bratnober Street.

"I still administer the insurance programs and profit-sharing, and some of the detailed stuff I've actually not turned over yet," he said last week.

Buck has retained his position as chairman and chief executive officer of his company. Mostly, though, he's working on his golf game and spending time with his family.

Buck's retirement ended a career that touched several fields -- all of which had some connection to printing, which has been Waterloo-based Matt Parrott's specialty since the company started rolling the first legal ledgers off of its presses in 1868.

"The major thing is that he has treated every employee at Matt Parrott as a family member," said Chris Vadner, who worked with Buck for 25 years and succeeded him as president. "It's really incredible. You just feel like you're a part of the family, which is unusual in today's economy."

Indeed, Buck heaped credit on his Parrott co-workers for making him look good.

"The thing I'm most proud of are the people I was surrounded with that are now running the place," he said. "I guess, no matter how incompetent you are, if you find the right people to do the hard work, you're going to be OK. And, we have an excellent team."

The Parrott firm has expanded its repertoire -- and its holdings -- under Buck's direction. Thirteen years ago, the company bought Iowa City-based Goodfellow Printing. In 2003, Parrott purchased Cedar Rapids-based Keller-Hull, an office-supply and furniture company.

Both have turned out to be good acquisitions, Buck said.

And there were some additional blessings in light of the recent flooding in both of those cities.

"In Iowa City, they're five blocks from the river and two blocks from the 500-year flood line, and they were still evacuated," he said. The building -- and the $500,000 press system that went in two years ago -- escaped damage.

Keller-Hull was moved from its old location on the edge of downtown Cedar Rapids -- ground zero for this year's flood-- only last year, Buck said.

"We moved them way out to Marion," he said, a decision that "more luck" than anything else.

Buck started at Parrott & Co. in 1975, taking over the company for his deceased father.

His career started in a somewhat related area, after he earned a journalism degree at Iowa State and later served as editor of the Cherokee Daily Times in Cherokee. Later, he spent six years in the national advertising department of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. in Milwaukee.

After he moved to Waterloo, Buck got involved in politics, serving on the City Council for six years.

"I actually wanted Tim Russert's job; I guess I'm a political junkie," Buck said.

Indeed, one of Parrott's specialties is printing election ballots and selling ballot-counting equipment -- the company sold equipment in 69 counties in 2005-06, Buck said.

Last year, Buck attempted a return to the City Council, but his bid to fill a vacancy fell short.

That doesn't mean he's done contributing to the community, Vadner said.

"I feel fortunate in that I've worked closely with him for 25 years," she said. "He's still coming in one day a week. So he's not completely gone. He's still very active in the community."

Still, Buck says, retirement means it is time for him to reformulate his priorities a little.

"I'm working on my golf game, and that could take several years, and I'm volunteering for organizations," he said. "There's no shortage for a need of volunteers. And I'll be hanging out with my family and doing some traveling."

Contact Jim Offner at (319) 291-1598

or jim.offner@wcfcourier.com