Paramus, N.J. – The National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL) will honor the late Robin Dow Schabacker by inducting her posthumously into the Walter E. Soderstrom Society during the Society's annual dinner meeting on Saturday, Oct. 2, at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Chicago. A dedicated NAPL employee whose 22 years of service included oversight of NAPL's Management Plus program, Schabacker passed away on July 24 at the age of 49 after a courageous year-long battle with lymphoma.

"In her years at NAPL, Robin distinguished herself with a prodigious work ethic and a true servant's heart," said NAPL President and Chief Executive Officer Joseph P. Truncale. "All of us who knew her and worked with her benefited from the example she set and her high standards of selfless service. We wanted to honor her in this very special way, and we are glad that several members of her family, including her husband, Rich, and son, Bobby, will be joining us in Chicago as we pay tribute to the work she did and to the exceptionally giving person she was."

During her career at NAPL, Schabacker served as Consulting Services Manager, Director of Executive & Board Relations, and Director of Member Services. She also directed NAPL's Management Plus company assessment program and the annual Management Plus Awards competition. "Management Plus was a labor of love for Robin," noted Truncale. "She enjoyed working with the members who really wanted to improve and took great pleasure in watching them accept their recognition, knowing how hard they had worked to achieve it."

A graduate of Rider College, Schabacker also held an M.B.A. Degree from Montclair State University. She was an active member of the New Jersey Society of Association Executives (NJSAE), serving on its Board of Directors and chairing its Membership Committee.

Schabacker founded and was Chairperson of NAPL's Community Relations Committee, organizing numerous staff volunteer activities, including blood drives, food and clothing drives for local charities, raising money for victims of Hurricane Katrina and families of victims of September 11, volunteering at a local day care center for children of single teenage mothers, and "adopting" local families in need at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Her commitment to assisting others helped earn NAPL the Bergen County (N.J.) Volunteer Center's highest award.

She was also a volunteer at Chilton Memorial Hospital in Pompton Plains, N.J., where she read and offered comfort to elderly patients. The unanimous first-ever recipient of NJSAE's Points of Light Award, which recognizes selfless acts of giving, she accepted the award with characteristic humility, offering a word of thanks for the opportunity to help and the observation that "I get so much more from this than I give."

"Every member of NAPL benefited from Robin's work," said Truncale. "She was one of a kind; a rare person who saw humor in every situation, opportunity in every challenge, and basic goodness in every person."

Named for the late Walter E. Soderstrom, one of the founders of NAPL, the Soderstrom Society is an honors organization that recognizes the contributions of industry leaders, including printing company owners, equipment manufacturers, educators, journalists, and consultants. This year, former NAPL Chairman Stephen L. Johnson, President, RR Donnelley-State, Columbia, S.C., will receive the 50th Walter E. Soderstrom Award, NAPL's highest honor, and 10 current industry leaders will be inducted as Society members.