(November 03, 2008) Printing & Imaging Association Mountain States (PIAMS) members have been overwhelmed and offended by the negative national attacks on the association and its leadership and believe it’s time to set the record straight. PIAMS is “Alive & Well”, is 86 years old and plans to be available to support its membership for another 86 years! The only difference is that it is no longer constrained to offering membership in Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico and interest in membership is already coming in from surrounding states.  PIAMS is no longer constrained to only offering the PIA/GATF’s agenda.
 
PIAMS has been providing value to its membership since 1922 and continues to do so from its headquarters in Denver, CO.  It’s Board of Directors, under the leadership of Chairman JoAnne Billen of Perma-Graphics, Inc. and Vice Chairman Howard Harris of Eagle:xm, chose to disaffiliate from PIA/GATF in July of this year due to the members voicing their thoughts about “the diminishing value of PIA/GATF and the refusal of PIA/GATF’s management and volunteer leadership to speak to our organization about our issues..”
 
PIAMS partners with other National, Regional and Local organizations to bring its members the highest level of collaborative support possible and will continue to do so under the philosophy of “members first”. As Vice Chairman Harris states “we continue to support our members, on a daily basis, through employee training programs and superior buying power programs, along with providing business and technical support, that traverse the many industries and disciplines our members are working within”.
 
For the record, PIAMS is a leader in the country in its support and promotion of environmentally friendly practices and has instituted a “PIAMS Green Member” verification program which led seven of its member firms to be inducted by the State of Colorado into the state’s Environmental Leadership Program - the first printing companies in Colorado to be awarded such recognition.
 
In February of 2007, PIAMS was at the forefront of shutting down one of the first “Do Not Mail” proposed legislation in the country and did so with a coalition of many entities that would have been affected by such legislation including representations from DMA, MFSA, the AFL-CIO and the USPS in just 2½ weeks. It continues to be a leader in monitoring any potential reintroduction of similar legislation in the next legislative session and is prepared to do combat with the facts vs. the misinformation that continues to be purported by the do not mail proponents.
 
So don't believe the rumors that have been circulated in the national trade press over a several month period that Printing & Imaging Association Mountain States (PIAMS) has done everything from “gone out of business” to “no longer services the membership.  The association is alive and thriving.