09/15/2021
2021 Leadership Conference and Golf Tournament Recap
Our 2021 Leadership Conference was a great success! Thank you again to all of our sponsors, partners, speakers, staff and of course, all of the participants who attended this year. The success of this conference year after year is due, in large part, to all who attend. Each year we work hard to find the kind of topics and presenters that you tell us are important to you. Thanks to everyone who joined us and provided feedback. Keeping the annual leadership conference relevant and exciting remains a top priority to our Association.
Photos will be uploaded on social media soon!
We kicked off the conference on Sunday with Deborah Corn discussing how to reengage with customers in the "New Now". Her biggest point is that companies need to make sure that they are giving the right help at the right time and serving specific needs at specific moments. Content will be the new calling card and connection to clients.
Bill Farquharson stood in front of attendees and questioned "Why aren't you selling more?" He then proceeded to jot down the reasons given by the attendees and respond with answers that can be instantly applied to their situations.
Casino Night was a big hit. Everyone enjoyed watching some football, and “winning” millions of dollars at the casino tables. Our prize winners for the evening included the team of Jeff Reist of United Mail & Kevin Murray of Graphic Village, along with Cordell Walton of Sedgwick, who won their choice of Ohio professional sports tickets. Barry Henry of Flottman Company took home the much sought-after $100 Amazon gift card. Congratulations to the four of you!
Monday morning started off with a burst of morning energy from Deborah Corn, who brought forth several ideas on where to find business and how to printspire them to try something different than their normal print needs. The best thing a company can do for their clients is to become a partner and a resource for them to turn to.
Mark Potter reminded us all that we are living in an individualistic world where we long for community instead of a tribe. Community is built on compassion, and a company's marketing needs to be tailored to show that they are someone who cares and can be trusted. Real success will always result from having real engagement.
Steve Anzalone was quick to point out that culture is everything and a company needs to make are that its brand is consistent and delivers to what is promised. Many times culture is more important than the product being offered. The hiring and employment process needs to drive a meaningful culture and employee engagement.
For lunch this year, we went a different route and encouraged our attendees to sit down with one of the presenters and have engaging conversations. While most of the discussions and questions centered on their topic of expertise, it was great to see our presenters taking time to get to know each attendee at their table more and hearing the personal connections that were being made.
After lunch, Bill Farquharson stepped back up to the stage to discuss best sales practices and expanded on the Four Keys to Sales Success. The keys were knowing where to look, knowing what to say, creating an effective prospecting process and applying that process with diligence. Diligence needs to be emphasized over everything.
Mark Mosher finished out the conference sessions by scaring everyone with the unsettling but ever-important topic of Cyber Security. He touched on all of the latest security breaches that have taken place and shared best practices for protecting yourself and your company from falling victim to cyber attempts and attacks.
Presentations from the Leadership Conference are available for download on our website. Conference presentations are available here: Association Presentations. NOTE that member login is required for these resources. If you receive this e-newsletter, your email is already set up as your login. Simply reset your password to have access to member's only content. Contact the Association office if you need help with your login information: 614-794-2300.
Grand Ceremony
The 2021 Millcraft Grand Ceremony presentation celebrated the 2021 Print Excellence Awards Best of Category, Judge's Awards, Rising Star, and Best of Show winners.
The Best of Category print pieces were on display and members enjoyed looking through and discussing the wonderfully printed works.
The judges for this year’s print contest were Ken Eberhart, of Merrick Printing, Louisville, KY and Jeff Ekstein, the owner of Willow Printing in Toronto, Canada. The Judge's Awards were given to Inland Press for their corporate communication DRFC Case Book "Bring Everybody", and Graphic Village’s Covington Catholic High School Growth Brochure.
The Rising Star award is given to a new participant in the Print Excellence Awards. This year's Rising Star is Mitchell Graphics for their Charlevoix Community Foundation Annual Report.
The People's Choice Award is the only award presented that was not decided on by our judges. Attendees of the Grand Ceremony voted to name Steinhauser, Inc. and their Braille Ale entry as this year's recipient.
The Best of Show Awards honor printed pieces that have worked their way to the top of a rigorous competition. These awards are selected from the winners of the Best of Category Awards and the Best of Region awards that are chosen during the Print Week celebrations at the beginning of the year. Best of Show Awards are presented in four divisions, based on number of employees.
The Best of Show winner in the 20 employees or fewer division, is Evolution creative solutions in the category of Printer's Self Advertising for their "Go Bold" Capabilities Brochure.
The Best of Show winner in the 21 to 50 employees division is Inland Press, who won in the Category of Corporate Communications for the DRFC Case Book "Bring Everybody".
The Best of Show winner in the 51 to 100 employees division is Printwell for their entry in Digital Printing, Norman F. Carver, Jr. Architect of Form and Space.
The Best of Show winner in the 101 and above employee division for goes to Hopkins Printing in the category of Books - Other than Hardbound - Larger than 6"x 9" for OSU Department of Dance RISK Book.
Congratulations to all of our winners!
Golf Tournament
It was a beautiful, warm day on Tuesday, September 14 when our golf foursomes teed off at our 16th Annual Sterling Distribution Golf Tournament. The teams played a challenging 18 holes of golf, then enjoyed lunch and awards. Awards were presented to the top three teams and the proximity challenge winners. It was a fantastic day of golf and catching up with industry friends.
Players who purchased mulligans were entered into a raffle to win great prizes donated by Americas Print Show 22, BASYS Processing, Canon Solutions America, Federated Insurance, Graphic Media Alliance, ITU AbsorbTech, Millcraft, Prisco, Sedwick, Sterling Distribution, and Veritiv.
Congratulations to the winners of this year's Sterling Distribution Golf Tournament:
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1st Place Foursome: |
Mike Barrett Chris Michel Rick Snyder Steve Chappelear |
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2nd Place Foursome: |
Hope Sowders Kevin Koetz Dustin Shanton John
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3rd Place Foursome:
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John Helline Aaron Cunningham Brad Thompson Jim Cunningham |
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Proximity Challenges
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Longest Putt: |
Mike Barrett |
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Longest Drive: |
Dick Isler |
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Closest to the Pin: |
Kevin Koetz |
Again, we appreciate the overwhelming support of our sponsors for this year's conference and golf tournament. Many of our sponsors attended and we're sure they feel appreciated and supported by our members!
Please show your support of our faithful sponsors: