Fifteen Industry Leaders to be Inducted as Members of Walter E. Soderstrom Honor Society 

East Rutherford, N.J. - The National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL) has named David C. Pitts, President of Charlotte, N.C.-based Classic Graphics, as the 53rd Walter E. Soderstrom Award recipient. Pitts will be honored at NAPL’s annual Soderstrom Awards Dinner on September 7, 2013, at the University of Chicago Gleacher Center overlooking the Chicago River, the evening before the start of PRINT 13. NAPL will also induct 15 industry leaders into the Walter E. Soderstrom Society at the event and recognize Gold Award winners in its Marketing Plus^™ Awards competition.

“We are pleased to present this award to David Pitts,” said NAPL President and Chief Executive Officer Joseph P. Truncale, Ph.D. “His record of achievement and his willingness to share his knowledge with fellow printers singles him out as a very worthy recipient of NAPL’s highest honor for industry service.”

Pitts co-founded Classic Graphics with business partner Bill Gardner in 1983. Under their leadership, the company has grown from $65,000 to more than $75 million. Classic Graphics has also been honored as an NAPL Management Plus^™ Hall of Fame company. A former member of NAPL’s Board of Directors, Pitts was a 2011 inductee into the Printing Impressions/RIT Printing Industry Hall of Fame.

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 15 such leaders will be inducted as members of the Society:

• David Bennett, President, Bennett Graphics, Tucker, Ga.
• G. Paul Bozuwa, President and Chief Operating Officer, Dartmouth Printing Company, Hanover, N.H.
• Sid Chadwick, Chadwick Consulting, Lewisville, N.C.
• Tracey Cohen, President, Target Copy, Tallahassee, Fla.
• Derrick Doi, Vice President Quick & Franchise Segment Marketing, Xerox Corporation, Webster, N.Y.
• Bryan Hall, President and Chief Executive Officer, Graphic Visual Solutions, Greensboro, N.C.
• Mark Hischar, President and Chief Executive Officer, KBA North America Inc., Dallas, Texas.
• Gavin Jordan-Smith, Vice President, Solutions and Production Planning, BIS, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc., Ramsey, N.J.
• Frank Mallozzi, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Marketing, EFI, Foster City, Calif.
• Susan Nofi, Senior Vice President, Human Resources and General Counsel, Heidelberg USA, Inc., Kennesaw, Ga.
• Christopher Payne, Vice President Marketing?Business to Business, Kodak, Rochester, N.Y.
• Michael Ring, President, Xeikon America, Inc., Itasca, Ill.
• Ted Straus, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Suttle-Straus, Waunakee, Wis.
• Patricia A. Stricker, President and Chief Operating Officer, The Sheridan Press, Hanover, Pa.
• Trish Witkowski, President/Chief Folding Fanatic, Foldfactory.com, Phoenix, Md.

Tickets for the 2013 Soderstrom Society Dinner are $170 per person and $300 per couple. To register, please contact Joan Kasper-Nolan at (800) 642-6275, Ext. 6344, or [email protected].

Industry companies, including manufacturers and suppliers, who wish to honor the Soderstrom Award winner and Society inductees are invited to sponsor a full table for 10 ($5,000) or shared half-table for five ($2,500) at this year’s Soderstrom Awards Dinner. Sponsors will be recognized with signage at the event. Initial table sponsors include EFI and Xeikon. For sponsorship information, contact Marty Maloney at (203) 912-0804 or [email protected].

Join the conversation about the industry’s most celebrated social event on Twitter by following @NAPLconnect, and the hashtag #soderstrom.