NEW YORK, NY - Gamma Chapter of Gamma Epsilon Tau, the national graphic arts honor society, will present Gamma Gold Key Awards to Tim Dalton, Meghan Milkowski, and Diane Romano at its 2016 Gold Key Awards ceremony in New York City on June 1. The awards honor those who serve as role models through their exceptional records of service to the graphic communications industry. 

Tim Dalton is a consultant and an educator who has worked in, visited, or audited more than 700 print shops during the course of his career. He also has a long track record of support for print industry trade associations. Dalton, who began as a press feeder, was an early proponent of bringing the benefits of information technology to graphic communications. This led him to become a specialist in computerizing printing operations in ways that helped printers eliminate bottlenecks and waste.

As an instructor, Dalton taught estimating and quality management at industry schools in Boston and New York for 25 years. He wrote a book on waste reduction that was published by the National Association of Printers and Lithographers (NAPL, now part of Epicomm), and he developed custom software for organizations such as Time4Media, BMG Music Group, and National Publishing Company. Dalton also audits chain-of-custody certification as administered by the principal forestry management organizations.

Dalton’s industry affiliations include Printing Industries of America, the International Association of Printing House Craftsmen, and the Education Foundation of the Graphic Arts, which he serves as treasurer. He also is an advisor to the Women’s Press Collective in Brooklyn and to the Advisory Committee for Technical Education in the Graphic Arts for the New York City public school system.  

Meghan Milkowski currently is president of The Hill, an online news source for policy and political coverage. Her 25 years of publishing experience started at Life magazine, where she marked up pasteboards for prepress. Moving to Time magazine, she progressed from advertising production and plant operations to leadership roles in imaging, production, and business management.

Prior to joining The Hill, Milkowski served as vice president of production and circulation at Prometheus Global Media, the owner of Adweek, Billboard, Clio, Film Journal International, and The Hollywood Reporter. Initially hired to managed print contracts, paper purchasing, and distribution of the publications, she also undertook project management for information technology initiatives including the launch of an iPad publishing solution. 

In 2015, Milkowski was the recipient of a Luminaire Award from IDEAlliance and Printing Industries Alliance. The award recognizes media production leaders for their positive influence, creative excellence, and personal dedication to the graphic communications industry.

Diane Romano is one of the most prominent figures in graphic communications in the New York City metropolitan area. She currently is president and CEO of HudsonYards Studios LLC, a provider of integrated publishing and media solutions. She previously was group managing director of Schawk, Inc.; president of the media and entertainment group of AGT/Seven; and president of Applied Graphics Technologies (AGT). 

Romano got her start in the industry as a draftsman in 1967. Two years later, she joined PPI in the art department and rose through the ranks to become its president. In 1988, PPI merged with The Kordet Group to form AGT (later AGT/Seven). Romano became president of AGT in 1995 and was instrumental in a subsequent series of deals that led to her present leadership position at HudsonYards.  

She has been renowned throughout her career as a champion of industry causes, particularly in education. Romano is a longtime officer of and fundraiser for the Graphic Communications Scholarship Award and Career Advancement Foundation (GCSF), a volunteer group that has presented more than $500,000 in scholarship grants to metro area students. Her long list of industry tributes includes the Luminaire Award, the Naomi Berber Award, induction into the Printing Impressions Printing Industry Hall of Fame, the Florence B. and Leo H. Joachim Award, the Advertising Production Club’s Advertising Production Person of the Year Award, and induction into Printing Industries of America’s Ben Franklin Honor Society.   

Gamma Epsilon Tau is a national, coeducational, collegiate printing fraternity in which students of printing and publishing can meet and interact in a professional and social atmosphere.  It has eight chapters at colleges and universities that offer degree programs in graphic communications. 

Gamma Chapter of Gamma Epsilon Tau is located at the Department of Communication Design (COMD) of New York City College of Technology, part of the City University of New York. Gold Key honorees in recent years have included Mark Darlow, Mike Connors, Frank Romano, Bob Sacks, Annette Wolf Bensen, Michael Cunningham, Florence Jackson, Timothy Freeman, and Kathy Sandler.

The 2016 Gold Key Awards dinner will be held on Wednesday, June 1, at Club 101, 101 Park Avenue, New York City. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Prof. Frank Adae at (718) 260-5833 or by e-mail: [email protected]