Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, - The Web Offset Association (WOA) and Printing Industries of America are pleased to announce that John Gaspari, Vice President, Operations, Specialty Print Communications (SPC) has been named the 2011 recipient of the H. Howard Flint II Operations Manager of the Year. He will be honored and recognized during the Offset & Beyond Conference, May 23–25, at the Omni ChampionsGate in Orlando, Florida.

Gaspari came to SPC as a highly accomplished pressroom manager, and in fact, could have been recognized for this honor prior to his arrival. Since joining SPC, he helped transform the organization from a commercial printer to a direct marketing specialist, increasing revenues by 50% and significantly increasing gross margins. His leadership and determination have vastly expanded SPC's capabilities through the management of millions of dollars in capital investment in new equipment and technology.

Gaspari spearheaded a quality initiative to reduce the costs of errors in the pressroom. Through his strong experience and background, John helped benchmark best practices and rolled out a quantifiable grading system within a new quality department. He helped set standards, write SOPs, hire and support the new department, and over the next seven months, saw error reductions of 80% yielding more than $1,000,000 in annual net savings.

"As a marketer my job is to communicate a compelling brand story," says Dustin LeFebvre, Executive Vice President, Marketing, SPC. "The SPC narrative has been an incredible one to communicate, as it involves pioneering, a massive expansion of capabilities, and growth in a mature industry under poor economic conditions. I would not be able to tell this story, nor would it exist, without the leadership, hard work, and determination of Gaspari and his team. He has helped transform the company and fueled consistent double-digit sales growth."

SPC is a thriving national print and direct marketing company located just outside Chicago that has experienced exponential growth as a complete direct mail production resource. The reason? Focus. The company embodies an absolute passion for helping generate measurable results by leveraging a communication medium, direct mail, to drive greater awareness, interest, and action to the client's products and services.

The H. Howard Flint II Operations Manager of the Year Award is conferred on a pressroom manager or supervisor who has excelled in their profession and contributed above and beyond to their company, customers, and the printing industry. Past recipients of the award include Philip E. Archer, Von Hoffmann Corporation; Scott Robinson, John Roberts Company; Steve Richardson, Courier Corporation; and Steve Buechel, The Segerdahl Group.