NEW YORK, NY, May 15, 2008 – Printing Industries Alliance (PIA) will hold its 2008 Franklin Event on Wednesday, September 10, 2008 (5:30-9:30 pm, note new extended closing time) at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers, New York City.
 
            Delivering the news to a room of more than 50 top industry executives at Manhattan's famed Friars Club on May 15th, PIA President Tim Freeman noted that more than 500 CEOs and senior executives from the printing, advertising, publishing and graphic arts related sectors are expected to attend.  Last year's gala was standing room only.
 
            "Our entire Board of Directors congratulates this year's honorees," said PIA Vice Chairman Ted Hansen (Hansen & Hansen Quality Printing). "We are also truly grateful to the many corporate sponsors, industry participants, and especially the hard-working Franklin Committee whose collective support will continue to make this gala such a huge success.  PIA as an organization is committed to delivering the highest quality of programs and services to our membership and to building the strongest trade association for our industry in the nation."
 
            "Our Chairman of the Board, Janet Green, and I will be at the Event this year," added PIA/GATF President & CEO Michael Makin. "These talented and dedicated 2008 Award recipients reflect the very reason why New York and its metro area is the second largest print center in the world."
 
            Franklin Committee Co-Chairs Diane Romano (HudsonYards) and Cheryl Kahanec (Sandy Alexander, Inc.) announced award recipients and sponsors.
 
            "This event continues to be the largest and most exciting networking event in our industry. While we are not at liberty at the moment to announce our honoree for the Franklin Award for Distinguished Service, you may rest assured that it is a person who is most deserving and the person's name will be released shortly," noted Co-Chair Romano. "Our other equally well-respected Award recipients are as follows:
 
    •    Power of Communications for Printing: James E. Hammer, Hammer Packaging
 
    •    Power of Communications for Advertising: Ken Lantz, DRAFTFCB – NEW YORK
 
    •    Power of Communications for Publishing: Tom J. Fox, American Express Publishing (Time, Inc.)
 
    •    John Peter Zenger Medal – Frederick K. Moss, Galvanic Printing & Plate Company/Flexi Printing Plate Company, Inc.
 
            Although the Franklin Award for Distinguished Service has been given out for over 50 years, the Power of Communications Award was established in 1971 to provide industry recognition of those who have demonstrated positive influence and creative excellence in the area of graphic communications.
 
            The John Peter Zenger Medal was established in 2007 to honor an individual employed in the graphics community within the PIA territory footprint (New York State, northern New Jersey and northwestern Pennsylvania) who has demonstrated exemplary character in the form of selfless courage, charity, activism or service (community or military).
 
            PIA called for open nominations from the graphics community for the Zenger Medal award.  Several different individuals nominated Mr. Moss for his many years of community service, working to better the lives of children in the cities of Paterson and Hackensack, New Jersey.
 
            "Twenty three companies have committed to sponsor the event and we have not even put out any publicity about it yet," noted Co-Chair Kahanec. "Additional sponsorships are anticipated and welcomed. To date, the following companies have signed on:
 
            Platinum: Brown Printing, Candid Litho, Continental Web, Graytor Printing, Hewlett-Packard, HIFLEX Corp., NA, HudsonYards, Peeq Media (formerly Color by Pergament), Pictorial Offset, Pitman, Polaris Direct, Presstek, Quebecor, Sandy Alexander, Xerox Corporation, and X-Rite/Pantone.
 
            Gold: Agfa Corporation, Dalim, Kodak, M-Real, Ondemand Color, Premium Color Graphics, and Ramsey Press."
 
            Romano and Kahanec both strongly encouraged other firms to participate and/or sponsor the fall event, jointly noting, "you simply won't want to miss it!"
 
            Sponsorships are available at two levels: Platinum ($5,000), which provides for a reserved table of ten and Gold ($2,500), which provides for a reserved table of five. In both categories, sponsoring organizations will enjoy prominent corporate recognition throughout PIA's extensive pre- and post-event media campaign, promotional materials, website, venue signage and printed program. Individual tickets are also available at $350 each.
 
To register, sponsor or receive additional information, contact PIA's Vice President, Vicki Keenan, at the Association's Cranford, New Jersey metro office (908) 276-4482 or [email protected].