Sewickley, Pa., December 5, 2005 ¾ Gavels fell for the last time for the two historical honor societies of the Printing Industries of America and Graphic Arts Technical Foundation. The Ash Khan Society (AKS) of PIA founded in 1950 and the Society of Fellows (SOF) of GATF founded in 1969 merged on November 12, 2005 to form The Ben Franklin Society of PIA/GATF. Outgoing AKS King Khan, Al Merkel, commented, “The Ash Khan was a unique honor society. It’s a great group of people. I hope the new organization will also be special for its members.” Outgoing SOF chairman, A. John Geis, said, “This is a historical moment in the history of both organizations. It is only appropriate that one organization should represent the now consolidated PIA/GATF.” The officers for the new Ben Franklin Society are Robert E. Murphy, chairman, Kent Martin, vice chairman, William Evans, secretary, and Ted C. Ringman, treasurer. The new society recognizes and honors industry leaders who have made lasting contributions to the printing and graphic communications industries. This includes, but is not limited to, the Printing Industries of America (PIA) and its affiliates, the Graphic Arts Technical Foundation (GATF), and the Print & Graphics Scholarship Foundation (PGSF). The Ash Khan Society and the Society of Fellows Inducted 15 New Members Each society inducted their last class under their respective bylaws. The following day, by agreeing to become part of the Ben Franklin Society of PIA/GATF, the inductees continued membership under the bylaws of the Ben Franklin Society. Ash Khan Society New Members Robert A. Brown Bob serves as CEO of Goss International. Prior to joining Goss International in 2002, he served as president of Heidelberg Web Systems from 1991 through May 2001. Bob began his career in the graphics arts industry in 1978 when he joined Harris Corporation as a design engineer in the printing equipment sector. Over the years Bob has held positions in engineering, manufacturing, sales, and customer service. He has been a member of the board of directors of NPES, PIA/GATF, and the Seacoast United Way. Bob earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Southern New Hampshire University. He and his wife, Gail, reside in North Hampton, New Hampshire, with their two children. Wendell H. Burns Wendell is president and CEO of Jones Printing Co. in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Printing Industry Association of the South (PIAS) from 1979 to 1989. Wendell was chairman of the board of PIAS from for 1987–1988. He was the 1993 PIAS Man of the Year. A member of the Board of Directors for the Scitex Graphic Arts Users Association, he was chairman for 1995–1996. Considered by his peers to be one of the most creative printers, his company has won countless Best of Show awards. Wendell’s leadership, honesty, and hard work habits combined with his respect for the value of a client above the almighty dollar make him a great addition to the society. Wendell and his wife, Gay, make their home in Chattanooga, Tennessee. John Green John is the immediate past chairman of the board of the Printing Industries of America and Graphic Arts Technical Foundation (PIA/GATF) and president of Automated Graphic Systems in White Plains, Maryland. He served on the Board of Directors for the Printing Industries of Maryland from 1988–1997 and on the PIA/GATF Board of Directors from 1994–2005. A graduate of the University of Maryland, John worked as a Certified Public Accountant before joining Automated Graphics Systems in 1982. Over the years, John served as chief finance officer, general manager, and president. Under his leadership, sales at AGS grew from $3 million to $37 million. AGS was acquired by Consolidated Graphics in 1999. He is now managing president at AGS for Consolidated. John resides in Issue, Maryland, with his wife, Tricia. They have three children. David Langhans David has spent the last forty years working in, managing, and eventually negotiating the successful sale of his family’s printing company. During this time, he served on the Printing Industries of the South Board of Directors holding various committee chairs and ending as chairman from 2002–2003. He attended David Lipscomb University. David’s charitable acts have been numerous. He and his wife, Nettie Jane, donated a computer lab to Glenview Elementary School in Franklin, Tennessee, printed and distributed bibles and children’s books for Russia, and donated cookbooks to help raise funds for the purchase of a fire truck in Whitleyville, Tennessee. David and Nettie Jane have four children and four grandchildren. Herbert Hall Provence III Hall is the former president of Provence Printing, a family-held company sold in 2004. He was chairman of the Board of Directors for Printing Industry of the Carolinas (PICA), and was “The Charlotte Show” chairman when Graphic Arts Show Company purchased the show. Hall was instrumental in working out the final agreement so that it would be a win-win situation for both organizations. He was a board member of MPA and is now a current trustee of the Employing Printers Education Trust. Hall and his wife, Leslie, have two children, and they now own an upscale gift shop in Greenville, South Carolina. Charles D. (“Buddy”) Vaughan Buddy is president of Vaughan Printing Company, Nashville, Tennessee, and has worked in the industry for 50 years. He has been a PIAS board member since 1985, chairman of the board from 1993–1994, PIAS Man of the Year 1996, and served on the PIA/GATF Board of Directors from 1994 to July 2005. Buddy also served on the Executive Committee as secretary and chairman of Association Relations, and second vice chairman of PIA/GATF. He has held numerous leadership positions in the community. Buddy and his wife, Nancy, make their home in Franklin, Tennessee, and have three married daughters and nine grandchildren. W. Alfred McCulloch Al is the retired executive president of the now Moore Wallace State Printing Company in Columbia, South Carolina. He holds a print management degree from Carnegie Institute of Technology. A World War II veteran in the U.S. Marine Corps, Al joined the PICA Board of Directors in the early 1970s and was chairman of the PICA Board in 1976. He continues to serve as a trustee on PICA’s Educational Foundation and was secretary-treasurer from 1991–2001. George Morgan George is the former owner and founder of Craftsman Printing Company, which he started in 1956 and sold in 1984 to Graphic Industries. He is a graduate of Wofford College and holds a BA in Business Administration. Mr. Morgan actively served the Printing Industry of the Carolinas Board of Directors since the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was the chairman of the board in 1971. He has continued to serve as trustee for the PICA Educational Foundation, was secretary/treasurer from 1989 to 1991, and is presently serving on PICA’s 75th anniversary committee. W. Jack Ragsdale Jack is the former CEO of The Easley Progress (1946–1982) and Martin Printing Co. (1963–1982). He holds a mechanical engineering degree from Clemson University. He achieved the rank of U.S. Air Force Major, serving as a Navigator with Air Offense Japan and was decorated with Asiatic Pacific Campaign medal and two bronze stars. Jack was president of the South Carolina Press Association from 1962–63, chairman of the PIVA Board in 1972, and continues as a trustee for the PICA Educational Foundation. Society of Fellows New Members Joseph A. Becker Joe is a principle of Becker & Company, PC, located in Lanham, Maryland. He has been a consultant to the printing industry for more than 30 years. His areas of expertise include finance, production standards, compensation and incentive packages, mergers and acquisitions, and long-range planning. Joe is an “on-site” consultant for both PIA/GATF and NAPL, and a member of NAPL’s Soderstrom Society. He is a frequent contributor to industry publications with articles on tax and estate matters, family businesses, and succession issues. Joe is currently engaged by many printing companies on a continuing basis as a consultant and acts as facilitator to printing peer groups. He has spoken at the NAPL ? PIA/GATF Sheetfed Pressroom Conferences for more than eight years, and is one of the lead professionals of NAPL’s Financial Management course. John R. Berthelsen John is president of Suttle-Straus, Inc., located in Waunakee, Wisconsin. He has given of his personal time and resources in furthering education in printing. John shares his company’s experiences regarding technology, process, and improvements. He has served as an officer and/or committee member on numerous industry boards to advance state-of-the-art practices. At this time, John serves as vice chair of the Print and Graphics Scholarship Foundation (PGSF) to assist students in furthering their education and opportunities in the printing field. He established the John R. Berthelsen Scholarship through PGSF because he wanted to return something to an industry that he loves and which has provided a rewarding career for him. James Clark Jim is the director of Customer and Business Services with McNaughton & Gunn, Inc., a book manufacturer, located in Saline, Michigan. He has been with McNaughton & Gunn for 18 years. Jim readily gives of his time and talents as a presenter at many industry educational forums. He has spoken at more than six NAPL ? PIA/GATF Sheetfed Pressroom Conferences and is recognized as one of the preeminent practitioners of manufacturing constraint management. Jim has been instrumental in establishing many educational programs throughout the printing industry designed to enhance graphic arts and business education. He is a past president of the Association for Graphic Arts Training and a member of NAPL’s Soderstrom Society. Dean Flowers Dean is the associate dean, Graphic Communications, at Waukesha County Technical College (WCTC), located in Pewaukee, Wisconsin. He has been and is the man behind the new world-class school of Graphics and Printing at WCTC. Dean is a very knowledgeable leader for the career paths of hundreds of young people entering Wisconsin’s large printing industry, and WCTC is a tribute to professional education in our industry. In addition, WCTC was the 2001 recipient of the SOF’s Frederick D. Kagy Award of Excellence. He accepted the award on behalf of the college. Steven T. Fullerton Steve is director of Trade Relations with the Kodak Graphic Communications Group, located in Oakdale, Minnesota. As a thirty-plus-year industry veteran, he has always been a willing volunteer to serve industry boards, councils, committees, etc., and provide resources to help the printing industry’s image and growth. During his career in the graphic arts business, he has worked diligently to bring various industry groups together to exchange ideas with respect to evolving technologies and how they might be applied to help companies improve their sales and profits. Steve is very involved with a number of major universities and technical institutions that offer graphic communication degreed programs. In addition to providing product and technical support, he currently serves on a number of industry advisory councils which provide direction to the graphic arts programs. Steve was the recipient of the 2004 Arizona State University’s Graphic Communications Department “Z.A. Prust” Award, which honors an individual for continued support of higher education in the graphic arts industry. He is currently serving on the PIA/GATF Board of Directors and Supplier Advisory Committee, and is a 2005 inductee to NAPL’s Soderstrom Society. Larry Kroll Larry is vice president, Print Media Academy, with Heidelberg USA, Inc., located in Kennesaw, Georgia. He has been active in the graphic arts/printing industry for the past 40 years. Larry is a member of the PIA/GATF Board of Directors and Executive Committee, is presently serving as the chairman of the Print and Graphics Scholarship Foundation (PGSF), and is chairman of the PIA/GATF Supplier Advisory Committee. He developed Heidelberg’s consulting initiative, which provides operational, production, and ROI analyses to prepress and printing facilities. Larry established the Heidelberg Print Media Academy here in the United States. This program presents educational and training initiatives at Heidelberg’s Technology Centers, on the Internet, and at major trade shows. He has always been a strong proponent for education for the graphic arts/printing industry. There are 305 members of the new Ben Franklin Society, twenty-seven of which had overlapping memberships in both organizations. As separate organizations, AKS members contributed over $63,000 for the Ash Khan Legacy Fund Scholarship. The Society of Fellows also has a foundation scholarship of over $61,000. The scholarships remain under the original agreements and it is hoped that a third scholarship will be created for the new society. The Ben Franklin Society will continue to sponsor the Naomi Berber Memorial Award and the Frederick D. Kagy Award of Excellence programs presented annually by the former Society of Fellows. The Naomi Berber Memorial Award, established in 1976, and is presented annually to a woman who has made a major contribution to the graphic communications industries. The Frederick D. Kagy Education Award of Excellence was established in 1993. This annual award recognizes an exemplary middle school, high school, or community college graphic communications program that has demonstrated a strong instructional leadership, a high degree of professionalism, innovative techniques, and promotion of the industry.