Spring 2004                    return to newsletter contents page

FPPA has an Aggressive 2004 Agenda

Lee Grantham

FPPA President

With Spring comes meetings season, when all of the industry trade associations seem to have their Annual Meetings. It is gratifying to know that our FPPA Annual Convention kicked the season off with a strong program in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The presenters were excellent; business sentiment was upbeat; and our esteemed customer panel drew from such companies as Frito-Lay, Packaging Corporation of America (PCA) and Bemis Company, and offered insightful looks into their companies’ needs.

Kudos to President Jack Fulton and the FPPA Program Committee for a job well done.

For those of you who missed the convention, or for attendees who did not receive handouts from our presenters, we’ve developed a post-convention page on our website. Simply click here to view.

Our Program Committee will be meeting in June to begin planning next year’s convention, being held in Miami, February 27-March 1.

In the meantime, our committees are starting a new year with great guns. We have some ambitious projects and programs in the works for the coming year, including a cutting-edge insurance program that may save members up to 20% on their health insurance premiums. These projects are all being spearheaded by our committees.

It’s not too late to get involved – FPPA needs the support of its members. As the cliché goes, the best way to get something out of an organization, is to give some of your time and energy. My experience has been that serving on the Board and various committees gives me an insight into the association and the industry that I would not have otherwise. I encourage you to give it a try – contact FPPA to find out what our committees are working on and to volunteer for a project that interests you.

FPPA recently wrapped up a successful Sales Training program in Baltimore with Jim Pancero.   As a repeat-performance for FPPA, this was a worthwhile training opportunity for all who participated.

On September 21-22, 2004 we’ll be holding our annual Management Workshop in Las Vegas. If you have some hot topics that you would like to see covered at this workshop, please contact FPPA headquarters with the request, as our Management Development Committee will be creating the program for this event in the coming weeks.

My goal as President for the coming year is to increase membership, to make FPPA an even more worthwhile association that can truly represent the pre-press side of this industry. I need everyone’s help to accomplish this. As you are speaking to your customers, suppliers and even competitors, let them know how valuable FPPA’s networking and programs have been for your company. We will all benefit from a larger and stronger FPPA.