[caption id="attachment_5357" align="aligncenter" width="550" caption="From left: Russell K. Hotzler, president, New York City College of Technology (NYCCT); Annette Wolf Bensen, AnGen Services; Bob Sacks, Precision Media Group; Susan Nofi, Heidelberg USA; Mary Ann Biehl, chair, Department of Advertising Design & Graphic Arts, NYCCT."][/caption]

Bob Sacks, known to thousands of readers as “BoSacks,” became the 114th recipient of the Gamma Gold Key Award, a tribute bestowed annually to industry notables since 1956. Also honored at the June 2 ceremony in New York City were Annette Wolf Bensen, a graphic arts educator and activist; and, in recognition of its exceptional corporate contributions to graphics education, Heidelberg USA.

Sacks, creator of the daily e-newsletter “Heard on the Web” Media Intelligence™, has a long and colorful history in periodical publishing and media consultancy. He was saluted by Gamma Chapter, Gamma Epsilon Tau, for the knowledge he has spread both through the newsletter and through many other information-sharing activities.

The present moment is “the most exciting time to be in this industry, ever,” said Sacks, who received a Champion of Education Award from the Graphic Communications Scholarship and Career Advancement Foundation last year. He described opportunities for students preparing to enter the field as “boundless and lucrative.”

Annette Wolf Bensen, recipient of a Founders Gold Medal & Citation Award, was being honored “for being the best thing you can be called—we’re honoring her as a teacher,” said Jack Powers of IN3.ORG in an introduction. A 50-year veteran of the printing industry, Bensen has trained hundreds of students and professionals in a long list of teaching assignments. She also is a fundraiser for graphics education as a board member of advisory and scholarship organizations.

Bensen called upon others in the industry to assist graphics education with student internships and teacher-training opportunities as well as cash. “It’s called giving back,” she said.

Susan Nofi, Heidelberg’s vice president, human resources and legal, accepted a certificate of recognition citing her company’s many-fronted support of academic and professional education for the graphic arts. She also directs Heidelberg’s Print Media Academy in Kennesaw, GA, the site of many of these activities. Nofi stressed the importance of participation by manufacturers and vendors in efforts to promote education and professional development.

The bestower of the evening’s tributes, the Gamma Chapter of Gamma Epsilon Tau, is the local branch of a national, coeducational, collegiate printing fraternity in which students of printing and publishing can meet and interact in a professional and social atmosphere. Its members are enrolled in graphic arts programs various colleges, technical institutions, and universities.

Gamma Chapter, located at New York City College of Technology (NYCCT) in Brooklyn, NY, is the descendent of one of the groups that founded the society in 1953. Its latter-day members are students and alumni of NYCCT’s Department of Advertising Design & Graphic Arts (ADGA), a multi-disciplinary learning unit with an enrollment of more than 1,100. ADGA’s Prof. Frank Adae is the organizer of the annual Gamma Gold Key Award programs.

NYCCT, a division of the City University of New York, is largest four-year public college of technology in the northeastern U.S. Other chapters of Gamma Epsilon Tau are located at Rochester Institute of Technology, Ferris State University, Pittsburg State University, Pennsylvania College of Technology, Murray State University, Appalachian State University, and Clemson State University.