The National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL) has named  John Saxton, President and CEO of The Sheridan Group, as the 52nd Walter E. Soderstrom Award recipient. Saxton will be honored at NAPL’s annual Soderstrom Society Dinner on October 6, 2012, at the Mid America Club in Chicago, Ill., one night before the start of GRAPH EXPO. NAPL (www.napl.org) will also induct 12 industry leaders into the Walter E. Soderstrom Society at the event.

“We are pleased to present this award to John Saxton,” said NAPL President and Chief Executive Officer Joseph P. Truncale, Ph.D. “He has committed his career to advancing and bettering the printing industry. This award is a fitting recognition, and a much deserved appreciation of his tireless work.”

Saxton has been the President and CEO of The Sheridan Group since 1995. The Sunbury, Pa., native received his Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from Bucknell University in 1971. He spent 24 years with the Procter & Gamble Company, with responsibilities in manufacturing, research and development, human resources, government relations, and general management. In 1990, he became President of the Noxell Corporation.

Saxton serves as an outside director on the board of Six Red Marbles and was a past director on the board of Technical Aid Corporation. He is a trustee on the boards of two Baltimore independent schools, St. Paul’s School and St. Paul’s School for Girls; a past Chairman of Junior Achievement of Central Maryland; and past General Campaign Chair for the United Way Campaign of Central Maryland.

Society Inductees
Named for the late Walter E. Soderstrom, one of the founders of NAPL, the Soderstrom Society is an honors organization that recognizes the contributions of industry leaders, including printing company owners, equipment manufacturers, educators, journalists, and consultants. This year 12 such leaders will be inducted as members of the Society:  

• Merlin Buhl, President, Foremost Communications, Grand Rapids, Mich.

• John Conley, Vice President Commercial Print & Publishing, Xerox Corporation, Webster, N.Y.

• James P.  Donnelly, President, Precise Continental, Harrison, N.J.

• Mitch Evans, Partner, Mitch Evans Consulting, Daufuskie Island, S.C.

• Kelley Holmes, Publisher, Cygnus Business Media, Port St. Lucie, Fla.

• James Lange, Senior Vice President, Corporate Accounts, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Dallas, Texas

• Joseph E. LaValla, President, Integrity Graphics, Inc., Windsor, Conn.         

• Martin Maloney, Chairman, Broadford & Maloney, New York, N.Y.

• Robert A. Mason, CEO, Intelligencer Printing Company, Lancaster, Pa.

• Ann Porster, President/Chief Financial Officer, Grand River Printing & Imaging, Belleville, Mich.

• Julie Schildgen, Academic Chair/Professor, Rock Valley College, Rockford, Ill.

• Edmund Young, Senior Vice President of Sales, Heidelberg USA, Kennesaw, Ga.

Tickets for the 2012 Soderstrom Society Dinner are $170 per person and $300 per couple. To register, please contact Joan Kasper-Nolan: [email protected]; (678) 594-0048, Ext. 104. And be sure to connect on Twitter to get involved in the conversation! Follow@NAPLconnect, and the hashtag #soderstrom.