Martha Stewart to Receive the Prestigious Franklin Award On September 18th

NEW YORK CITY—August 7, 2007—Printing Industries Alliance, formerly known as the Printing and Imaging Association of New York State, has announced that internationally known lifestyle communicator Martha Stewart has been named the recipient of the 2007 Franklin Award, which recognizes the achievements of outstanding leaders and communicators. The award will be presented during the Association’s Franklin Event on Tuesday evening, September 18, at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers in New York City.

A New Host

This is the first time the Franklin Event will be hosted by the Printing Industries Alliance. “We are happy to have this opportunity to host the Franklin Event which has been held in New York for more than 50 years. Our Board of Directors chose to resurrect the event under our independent banner rather than allow this glorious industry tradition to expire,” said Board Chairman Stephen Zenger of The Zenger Group.

In past years, the Franklin Award has been presented to nationally known luminaries that include several United States Presidents, New York State Governors George Pataki and Mario Cuomo, New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman, New York City Mayors Michael Bloomberg and Rudy Giuliani, as well as notables such as Norman Rockwell and Walter Cronkite.

A Very Accomplished Award Recipient

Martha Stewart is the founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, a media and merchandising company that provides useful “how-to” ideas and beautiful products that enrich the everyday lives of women and their families. Millions of consumers rely on Martha as their arbiter of style and taste. She is a source of inspiration and instruction for all aspects of everyday living – from cooking and entertaining, to decorating and home renovating, and much more. According to a 2006 survey, over 75 million women say that Martha Stewart influences the way Americans think about, organize, and manage their homes.

Martha Stewart’s unique sensibility and design aesthetic are reflected in MSLO’s expansive multimedia portfolio, which encompasses such magazines as Martha Stewart Living, Martha Stewart Weddings, Everyday Food, body + soul, and Blueprint: Design Your Life, as well as “Martha Stewart Living Radio” on Sirius Satellite Radio, the Emmy Award winning television show THE MARTHA STEWART SHOW which was recently renewed early for a third season, the marthastewart.com website and more. Martha and her team of design experts have also created a broad assortment of branded merchandise, including the forthcoming Martha Stewart Collection of home products, available exclusively at Macy’s and on macys.com, and a Martha Stewart Crafts line of paper-based crafting products and storage supplies at Michaels arts and crafts stores.

The Personification of Our Industry

This year’s Franklin Event co-chairs are Diane Romano of HudsonYards, and Gary Marron of HIFLEX Corp, NA. Romano stated: “The Franklin Event Committee is extremely excited to have Martha Stewart as our Franklin Award recipient. We chose Martha because our industry executives identify with her perfectly. Martha is both an entrepreneur and a chief executive. She is a very talented individual who has built a multi-faceted business and makes it better each day. Everyone identifies with Martha and she is the personification of the spirit of Benjamin Franklin and our industry.”

Romano continued, “Martha is a unique ‘lifestyle’ celebrity, and her ability to communicate good taste and style across so many media formats to so many people is truly remarkable. Everyone is anxious to see Martha on September 18th and we expect it to be the most successful Franklin Event on record.”

Industry Leader Awards

Martha Stewart will be joined at the Franklin Event by the following industry leaders who will be receiving Power of Communications Awards: for printing – Lester Samuels of Pictorial Offset; for advertising – Michele Unger of Grey New York; for publishing – David Orlin of Conde Nast; and Zenger Medalist, Betty Maul of Front End Graphics.

Early Sponsors of The Franklin Event

“Many companies are already sponsoring the event and we have not even put out any publicity yet,” noted co-chair Marron. “Additional sponsorships are anticipated and welcomed. To date, the following companies have signed on: Amper, Politzner; Astoria Graphics; Central Lewmar; CGI North America; Continental Web; Dalim Software; Eastman Kodak Company; Fujifilm Graphic Systems USA, Inc.; Gould Paper; H A Metzger; Hewlett-Packard; HIFLEX Corp, NA; HudsonYards; International Paper; L.P. Thebault; Mohawk Fine Paper; NY Daily News; Pictorial Offset Corporation; Pitman Company; Presstek; Printing News; Ramsey Press; Sandy Alexander, Inc.; Southern Lithoplate, Inc.; Sun Chemical; Xerox Corporation; and XMPie.”

Sponsorships are available at two levels: Platinum ($5,000) which provides for a reserved table of ten, and Gold ($2,500) which provides for a table of five. At both levels, sponsoring organizations will enjoy prominent recognition throughout PIA’s extensive media campaign, printed program and venue signage. Individual tickets are also available at $350 each. To register, sponsor or receive additional information, contact PIA Vice President Vicki Keenan at 908-276-4482, or keenan610@aol.com.

About Printing Industries Alliance
Printing Industries Alliance serves graphic communications firms that comprise the $18 billion graphic communications industry in New York State, Northern New Jersey and Northwestern Pennsylvania. The Association provides a variety of consultative, educational, informational and expense-saving services for its membership. Printing Industries Alliance is an affiliate of Printing Industries of America/Graphic Arts Technical Foundation (PIA/GATF). Printing Industries Alliance is headquartered in Amherst, New York, with a regional office in Cranford, New Jersey.