Induction Ceremony will be held Sept. 12 during the Annual Soderstrom Awards Dinner at Chicago’s Metropolitan Club. 

Alexandria, Va. - Eleven industry leaders will be inducted into Epicomm’s Soderstrom Society at ceremonies during the annual Soderstrom Awards Dinner in Chicago on September 12, 2015. The Soderstrom Society is an honors organization that recognizes the contributions of printing, mailing, fulfillment, and marketing services executives, as well as industry supplier executives, educators, journalists, and consultants. This year’s inductees represent a wide variety of industry segments.

“We are pleased to present this impressive slate of Soderstrom Society inductees, who have distinguished themselves in their fields and are very worthy of the honor,” says Ken Garner, President and Chief Executive Officer of Epicomm, the Association for Leaders in Print, Mail, Fulfillment, and Marketing Services. Epicomm is the new name for the association created through the merger of the Association of Marketing Service Providers (AMSP), National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL), and National Association of Quick Printers (NAQP). The Soderstrom Society is named for Walter E. Soderstrom, one of the founders of NAPL.

Following are the members of the Soderstrom Society Class of 2015:

• Steve Belmonte, President, AccuZIP, Inc. Atascadero, Calif.
• Charles Buchanan, Senior Vice President Strategic Accounts, World Marketing Inc., Dallas, Texas
• Brian Dollard, Director of Marketing, Canon USA Inc., Melville, N.Y.
• Gary Garner, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, GLS Companies, Inc., Minneapolis, Minn.
• Tom Glassman, Manager of Postal Affairs, Wilen Direct, Deerfield Beach, Fla.
• Constance V. Hill, President, VeraCentra, Napa, Calif.
• Andrew J. Mandell, President, Data-Mail, Inc., Newington, Conn.
• Wayne Marshall, Vice President Sales & Marketing, EDWARDS, Des Moines, Iowa
• Marc Olin, Chief Operating Officer/Interim Chief Financial Officer, EFI, Foster City, Calif.
• Ken Orr, General Manager, Progressive Impression International-Lansing, Lansing, Mich.
• Cary Sherburne, Senior Editor, WhatTheyThink & Sherburne & Associates, Villa Samia, Dominican Republic

“We are proud to add these outstanding industry executives to the list of eminent men and women who make the Soderstrom Society the industry’s most illustrious organization,” notes Garner. “Over the years, Soderstrom Society members have made significant contributions to the growth and advancement of our industry in numerous ways. Membership in the Soderstrom Society is clearly a prestigious mark of distinction.”

The program for the Soderstrom Awards Dinner, which takes place the evening before the opening of GRAPH EXPO 2015, also includes presentation of the 55th annual Walter E. Soderstrom Award to Tom Duchene, Chief Executive Officer of TDMS, Inc., Huntington Beach, Calif., and Chairman of the Epicomm Board of Trustees. One of the industry’s most elegant evenings, the Soderstrom Awards Dinner has, for more than half a century, not only served to offer well-earned recognition for industry leaders, but also to bring together old friends and new from all corners of the industry. The gala event is conveniently located in the beautiful Metropolitan Club Oak Room on the 66th floor of the Willis Tower in downtown Chicago.

“This is the second Soderstrom Dinner under the banner of our merged associations and the first under the Epicomm name,” adds Garner, “and I want to take this opportunity to encourage all our members and their suppliers to participate in this event, traditionally the industry’s best opportunity for quality networking.”

Companies that wish to support the event or honor one of the Soderstrom Society Inductees may do so with a table sponsorship. “Reserving a table at the Soderstrom Dinner offers companies the perfect opportunity to bring together their key executives and important customers or prospects in a wonderful setting,” says Garner. “Tasteful signage on the reserved tables also provides well-deserved recognition of a company’s support of our industry at one of its signature events.”

There are a limited number of reserved table sponsorships at the event still available.  Sponsorship of a reserved table for 10 for the evening is offered at $5,500; a half-table of five is $3,000. Sponsorship inquiries should be directed to Marty Maloney of Broadford & Maloney Inc. at (203) 912-0804 or [email protected].

Individual tickets to the 2015 Soderstrom Awards Dinner are available at $195 per person. For individual tickets, please contact Jennifer Root at (703) 972-2731, or [email protected].

Connect on Twitter to get involved in the Soderstrom conversation by following @EpicommAssoc and using the hashtag #Soderstrom15 to share your comments.