Coffee News® Family

Bill was raised on a potato farm in Bridgewater, ME. He and his wife, Sue-Ann, have a son and a daughter. His hobbies and interests include antique cars, golf, tennis, tree farming, and numismatics.

Bill holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Marketing with a minor in finance and an MBA in Business Administration from the University of Maine. Bill graduated from the School of Banking at Williams College, where he was the recipient of the Norman T. Shepard Award as the top graduate of his class.

He also graduated from the Stonier School of Banking at Rutgers University. Bill is a graduate of the National Security Management Course from the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. He completed a 28-year tour at the Maine Air National Guard in Bangor, ME.

Bill is the President of Coffee News® USA, Inc., as well as the owner and President of Manitoba, Inc., the world franchisor for the weekly restaurant publication Coffee News®. He is the majority owner of Coffee News® Printing, LLC. Coffee News®, now recognized as the world’s largest franchise publication and the largest restaurant publication with over 700 franchises in 8 countries and has a weekly worldwide readership of nearly 10 million.

Bill is a member of the International Franchise Association (IFA) and the New England Franchise Association. He is a Strategic Alliance partner with Business Network International (BNI), an international business-to-business networking organization. (BNI.com)

Contact Bill today!

As Senior Vice President of Franchise Development for Coffee News®, John manages the franchise selection and approval process, assists in training and development of franchisees, and reporting of critical data related to franchise growth.

John holds a bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism and minor in Speech Communications from Keene State, certification in Broadcasting from the New England School of Communications and studied music and business at the University of Maine. He has spent several years in the Direct Response industry and has a background in radio and television broadcasting.

John resides in Portland, Maine and is an active musician and aficionado of classic cars.

Contact John today!

Garrett Guernsey is the Chief Financial Officer of Coffee News® and minority owner of Coffee News® Printing, LLC. His company motto is “It is not what you make, it is what you keep.”
Work with Coffee News® began when Garrett was employed by Edwards, Faust & Smith, CPAs, as a staff accountant in 1996. In January 2004, he opened Guernsey Accounting Services and quickly found himself in demand by many of the same clients that he had built strong trusting relationships with. Coffee News® was the first such client that was engaged and, in less than one week, it was very clear that the most important skill that he had honed was building strong business relationships. Clients sought his services because he would not only provide great service but also help educate them and increase their level of understanding of their business.

Garrett is a graduate of the University of Maine, with an Associate Degree in Business Management and is a graduate of Husson University, with a BS Degree in Public Accounting.

Garrett lives in Bangor, ME with his wife Katie and his two daughters, Emma and Abby. He is an avid sports fan. Garrett and Katie are very active in their local Parent-to-Parent group that was developed by parents of children with special needs and the International Rett Syndrome Association.

Garrett can answer questions about Coffee News, Coffee News Printing and business management in general!

Melissa is the go-to girl! She works with new and tenure publishers on a day-to-day basis. She also keeps the Office afloat! She has a strong background in customer relationships and service, as well as management and marketing.

Melissa has a BS in Marketing and a Masters in Business Administration from Thomas College. Melissa worked for a financial institution for 5 years and then found her way to a jewelry company as the E-Commerce Manager for 10 years, prior to coming to Coffee News® in 2015.

Melissa spends most of her time with her son Lucas, two bonus kids, Haley and Dylan, and her newest edition, her grandson, Braxton. Sightseeing and finding hidden treasures in Maine are typical Sundays. When she can, she loves to travel and has been to Spain, Mexico, Aruba, Bahamas, Dominican Republic, and many of the states in the U.S.A.

She found Coffee News by chance! From pearls to paper – who knew!

Melissa loves to chat, shoot her a message anytime!

Candice’s role with Coffee News® started at an early age. As the eldest daughter of the Founder, Jean Daum, I guess you could say she was a shoe-in for the job. However, unlike those who apply for a career position Candice had to use a backdoor approach to prove her place and purpose within the company.

Her work with Coffee News® first started at the age of 16 as a delivery driver. After a couple of years, like most young adults, Candice wanted to branch out on her own. She received her photography certificate in 1990 and went on to work as a lab manager for 10+ years. During this time, she also obtained a BSc. in Biology. Her love for animals helped her choose this field but halfway there was an abrupt change in her chosen discipline. She couldn’t bring herself to research on live animals. Microbiology was the answer!… Since it was much easier to kill bacteria. After graduation, Candice landed a position at a prestigious Canadian pharmaceutical company as a quality control microbiologist.

Then in 2001, Coffee News® called her back.

Always wanting to lend a hand, Candice started selling franchises for her mother in her ‘spare time’. Well, that proved to be a bigger job than it was made out to be so Candice eventually left her career and dedicated her life to Coffee News®.

Candice’s efforts today shine brightest as the historian for Coffee News®. With the passing of her mother Jean in 2007, the importance to continue her mother’s legacy has become her life-long vision. Candice has found her place. She is the story-teller of the prequel to Coffee News®, its birth, and all the ups and downs along the way. Couple this with her diverse background in science and art, Candice has a unique ability to see both sides of almost any situation making her the perfect voice for her family of franchisees.

Candice has two younger siblings, Jim and Leslie (Leslie also works at the Canadian Head Office), and one son, Aidan, who is the pride and joy of her life. All still reside in Winnipeg, the birthplace of Coffee News®, editions continue to be published. In 2013, Candice took up her love of photography again and is now an award-winning, Accredited Member of the Professional Photographers of Canada. Photographing animals of course.

To reach Candice just click here!

Leslie Daum followed in her mother’s footsteps by publishing her first Coffee News® edition in Selkirk, MB in May 2004. After going to her first Coffee News® Conference, the excitement of being a Coffee News® publisher took effect immediately. Having nowhere for Jean to see that brown piece of paper when she moved to East Selkirk, she soon enjoyed the Coffee News® in her local restaurants. 15 years later, Leslie now publishes 2 editions in the Interlake Region while working part-time at the Canadian Head Office as Director of Publisher Relations.

Send Leslie any questions you may have!

After selling businesses for almost a decade, Rudy took on the Coffee News Whangarei edition just after the first Covid lockdown in New Zealand. Previously he was involved in the sale of some editions in Auckland as a business broker and always thought that the Coffee News Master Franchise would be a great opportunity if it were ever available to take over.

About 6 months after running an edition a transfer of the rights was negotiated with Helen Fisher and Rudy is now running New Zealand since March 2022.

Rudy has a strong background in door-to-door sales, business sales & business development and he is dedicated to ensuring his franchisees reach the full potential of their publications through hands-on training and find practical solutions to challenges that may come with the territory.

After twenty years dedicated to music, theater, and the arts, Hugo decided to embark on a new challenge, Coffee News!

His academic background comprises training in various areas, from music to history and from digital marketing to credit intermediation.

In 2015 he became a franchisee by purchasing the Coffee News license for the cities of Sintra and Mafra, in Portugal. In just over 3 months, the concept was a huge success and Hugo decided to accept the invitation to represent the Coffee News brand in Portugal.

He is currently developing his three licenses and providing support and training to all new franchisees in Portugal.