July 3, 2008: The Gravure Association of America, Inc. will present its top award, Person of the Year-Publication Gravure, to Cathie Black, president of the Hearst Magazine Group, and Person of the Year-Packaging Gravure, to Stephen F. Young, head of industry supplier Mundet Inc., at a special ceremony September 10. The event will take place during the group's most important annual conference, to be held this year in Parsippany, NJ.

"Cathie Black has rightfully been called the 'first lady of American magazines' and Stephen Young is recognized by everyone in the packaging industry as a market innovator and expert manager," notes Bill Martin, president and CEO of GAA. "We couldn't be more thrilled to recognize the great achievements of two industry leaders than to honor them with our industry's premier award. Furthermore, we can all be pleased that their recognition will also greatly benefit gravure educational efforts around the country."

Presentation of GAA's Person of the Year award is to take place at an invitation-only luncheon that serves as the major fund-raising effort of the Gravure Education Foundation (GEF), a part of GAA. Proceeds go toward support of the foundation's mission to help students, instructors, and gravure educational programs at nine resource centers and affiliated university partners.

Cathie Black's publishing responsibilities

At Hearst, Cathie Black manages the financial performance and development of some of the industry's best-known titles: Cosmopolitan; Esquire; Good Housekeeping; Harper's Bazaar; Marie Claire; O, The Oprah Magazine; Popular Mechanics; Redbook; and Town & Country-18 magazines in all.

Black also oversees nearly 200 international editions of those magazines in more than 100 countries.

In all, five Hearst titles are printed gravure: Cosmopolitan, Country Living, Good Housekeeping, Redbook, and Seventeen.

In her book, "Basic Black: The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work (and in Life)," she explains how she achieved "the 360-degree life," a blend of professional accomplishment and personal contentment. The book includes her insights regarding such media and business giants as Francis Ford Coppola, Rupert Murdoch, Al Neuharth, Gloria Steinem, Harvey Weinstein, and Oprah Winfrey.

The book, now in its eighth printing, reached No. 1 on The Wall Street Journal Business Books list, the Business Week bestseller list, and No. 3 on The New York Times Business Books List. It has been licensed for upcoming translated editions in 12 countries, and the paperback edition will debut in September.

Young's long experience with gravure

Stephen Young, who recalls attending his first gravure conference in the U.S. in 1976, got involved with GAA about 15 years ago when he joined the association's board of directors. He was appointed second vice president in 1998, first VP in 2000, then served as GAA chairman from 2002 to 2004.

The company Young heads, Mundet Inc., Richmond, VA, is a privately held, women-owned firm with 350 employees and four plants in the U.S. and Canada. Mundet uses the gravure process to print decorative cigarette tipping paper as well as specialty packaging and promotional materials for food items, tobacco products, and other uses of flexible substrates.

In 2002, fulfilling a personal lifelong commitment to the value of education, he joined the GEF board of trustees. Young, recounting that his first real job in England was as a lab technician in a full-service gravure plant, adds "And here I am still in the industry 47 years later."

Award's special recognition

"We present these awards only every other year, so it's apparent how special the recognition is and how important this event is in helping us complete our educational mission," says Bernadette K. Carlson, executive director of GEF. "This program helps us fund scholarships, Gravure Days at our resource centers, learning trips for students, and grants to schools to buy needed equipment. In fact, several students and professors will be able to attend the upcoming Leadership Summit because of the GAA Person of the Year Award."

GEF/GAA resource centers include Arizona State University, California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo, Clemson University, Murray State, Rochester Institute of Technology, University of Wisconsin-Stout, Western Michigan University, University of Central Missouri, and Pittsburg State University.

GAA's Martin concludes, "The Gravure Association of America and the Gravure Education Foundation congratulate these two worthy recipients and sincerely thank all in the industry who support our mission."