March 13, 2008 -- Over 260 members and guests deserted the rain, sleet, and cold of the United States to attend the first PIA/GATF international executive management conference in this century in Cancun, Mexico-the 2008 Presidents Conference. Eduardo L. Bres Medina, principal of LITOLINE de MEXICO, a Mexico City Offset printer and publisher, welcomed the attendees.

The location was rated unbeatable, fabulous, and fantastic, and the conference programming received much acclaim. Linda Clarke, principal, Continental Colorcraft, California, and her husband, Doug, said, "Thank you for all that you did to set up such a fantastic conference. We had a wonderful time and got some great information and amazing networking opportunities. It was our first, and it will be hard to top it!"

Cal Sutphin, president, Braden Sutphin Ink, MD, said, "This year's program was great and really on the mark. Information on Greening the Industry was excellent, and we needed to hear this."

Bill Gibson, Chairman of the Presidents Conference Advisory Committee and Second Vice Chairman of PIA/GATF Board of Directors, stated, "The members make the Presidents Conference such a phenomenal success. Even with golf and the Cancun sunshine beckoning, the concurrent sessions, roundtables, and general sessions were filled with executives."

Attendees learned from various sessions covering security, marketing, green, lean, strategic management, acquisition strategies, competing with majors, and much more. PIA/GATF's new video presentation, "I LOVE PIA/GATF," was introduced and rerun a second time by popular demand at the Gala Dinner. "We need to be on the leading edge. This video was well worth the effort. Good work!" said Peter Bird, president, Starkey-Henricks, NY.

"We are so fortunate to have the powerhouse supplier companies sponsor the Presidents Conference," continued Gibson. Sponsors of the 2008 Presidents Conference included: Adobe, Fuji, Heidelberg, Hewlett Packard, Independent Printers Worldwide (IPW), KBA, Kodak, Komori, MAN Roland Inc., Printing Impressions, Sun Chemical, Unisource Worldwide, Utica National Insurance Group, and Xerox. In addition, sponsors as well as printers contributed to the PrintPAC Beach Blanket Bingo silent auction, which added purpose to a fun networking event.

The 2009 PIA/GATF Presidents Conference and BIA Conference will be held March 1–5, 2009, at the Omni Orlando ChampionsGate in Orlando, FL.

For more information contact Diane Koch at 800-910-4283, ext. 803 or [email protected].