July 14, 2003 -- Pewaukee, WI – The Association for Graphic Arts Training (AGAT) Annual Conference, the industry’s premiere event for trainers, will take place October 1-4, 2003 at the Radisson Hotel, Pewaukee (a suburb of Milwaukee). Wanda Breeden, renowned industry trainer and organizational development specialist, will keynote the conference. Her talk, “Technology and Training,” will focus specifically on e-learning, computer-based training, and how the internet has provided a myriad of new opportunities for training. Robin Schroeder, corporate attorney with Banta Corporation, will speak on “Legal Issues Facing Today’s Trainers”. Learn how effective training can be a “magic bullet” for employment litigation. Identify the top 10 training opportunities for today’s trainers. Recognize the topical areas that should be on your organization’s near-term training agenda. Joe Contrera, renowned communication specialist, will discuss "Closing the Gap”. Training professionals rarely create an impact within a company by exercising positional power. Rather they create an impact by influencing others. This session deals with realizing our personal gifts, moving on them and pursuing excellence in these skills. Other topics to be covered at the conference include: “Stochastic Printing,” “Tools and Techniques for Trainers,” “Building a Presentation,” “Justifying Your Training,” and a host of additional important topics. Heidelberg has signed on as the Conference’s main corporate sponsor. As such, they will be providing among other things, funding for 10 educational scholarships to be awarded to aid prospective Conference attendees. Additional information and application forms will be available on the AGAT web site, www.agatweb.org. Other corporate sponsors include: Fuji Film, MAN Roland, Kodak Polychrome Graphics, Komori, Kolbus, LaCrosse Litho, The National Council for Skills Standards in Graphic Communications, and the National Association for Printing Leadership. One of the conference highlights is peer-to-peer communication, and this year should be as beneficial as ever. Attendees have the opportunity to meet and discuss current training issues, tips, and to share successes and concerns. The Annual Banquet will take place Saturday, October 4, 2003, and the Association will bestow its prestigious Terry McMillian Award at that time. The Award is named for one of the Association’s Founders, Terry McMillian, and is awarded each year to someone who exemplifies the mission of the organization. Recent winners include: Susan Reif, NAPL; Bob Clarke, Vertis, Inc.; and Greg Morrison, Cadmus Communications. AGAT is a member-driven organization committed to excellence in graphic arts training and development, and has been providing developmental resources for graphic arts training professionals since 1987. AGAT’s mission is to increase the productivity and skill level of our industry’s employees through effective training and development practices at member companies. The Association’s membership includes representatives from printing companies, industry suppliers and manufacturers, educational institutions, associations, foundations and consultants. Registration fees for the conference include current year membership in the Association (a $60 value), and range from $300 for an educational registrant to $455 for a full corporate trainer to $555 for a vendor registrant. Multiple attendee discounts apply for trainers from the same company location. Contact Jay Gross ([email protected]), President, or Jay Lyons ([email protected]), Conference Coordinator for conference details. For more information on conference registration or membership benefits, visit www.agatweb.org, or contact Membership Chairman Barb Bense at [email protected].