PIAG Names SkillsUSA Georgia Winners

(Atlanta, Ga., March 18, 2010) – The Printing & Imaging Association of Georgia (PIAG) has announced the winners in the Georgia SkillsUSA graphic communications and advertising design competitions held at Heidelberg USA’s Print Media Demonstration Center in Kennesaw, Ga. Through a grant from PIAG’s Educational Foundation, the first place contestants and their advisors will travel to Kansas City in June to compete in the national SkillsUSA competition. In addition, the Foundation awarded scholarships to the winners totaling $4,500.

Winners in the graphic communications competition include: first place: Christina Hillman, Effingham High School, Springfield, Ga.; second place: Eriko Smith, Bradwell Institute, Hinesville, Ga.; and third place: Jason Cagle, Walton High School, Marietta, Ga.

Winners in the advertising design competition include: first place: Karina Scholtens, Central Education Center, Newnan, Ga.; second place: Yea Jee Bae, Dalton High School; and third place: Julia Tillery, Effingham High School, Springfield, Ga.

All students competed in a job interview and written skills assessment. The advertising design competitors were given three hours to compose a logo and packaging for a fictitious new lunchbox. AIGA, the professional design association, judged the entries. The graphic communications category consisted of five competencies: pre-press work, offset press, finishing, a written exam and job interview. Winners received above average scores in all five categories. Video of the competition can be found at www.youtube.com/PIAGGeorgia.

“Heidelberg USA is honored to once again host the Georgia SkillsUSA graphic communications and advertising design competitions,” said Susan Nofi, senior vice president, Human Resources at Heidelberg USA. “The level of talent exhibited during this competition is truly astonishing. It’s great to see these high school students demonstrate such a strong interest in a graphic arts career. I certainly hope they pursue their career goals into their higher education and the workforce.”

“Finding and keeping skilled management, production, technical and sales employees is a major issue facing printers today,” said Bill Garvey, division manager at Athens Paper and chairman of the PIAG Educational Foundation, sponsors of the contest. “Participation in SkillsUSA is a win for everyone. Students get valuable job training and industry ensures a skilled pipeline of future talent.”
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About SkillsUSA
SkillsUSA (www.skillsusa.org) is a partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled work force. The organization serves more than 280,000 students and instructors annually and has 13,000 school chapters in 54 state and territorial associations. More than 14,500 instructors and administrators are professional members of SkillsUSA.

About The Printing & Imaging Association Educational Foundation
The PIAG Educational Foundation (www.piag.org/education) is a nonprofit corporation established in 1985 as the educational and charitable arm of the Printing & Imaging Association of Georgia. The Foundation provides educational opportunities to industry professionals, career awareness programs for students and instructors and scholarship opportunities. The Foundation also promotes the printing and imaging profession within the state to future industry leaders and potential customers.

Transportation for SkillsUSA

Congratulations to all the SkillsUSA regional winners in Georgia. We're excited to see you at the state competition!

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Each year, PIAG sponsors the Georgia statewide SkillsUSA competition for Advertising Design and Graphic Communications. We also sponsor a full day of training for contestants the day before the competition. Since our contest and training is held off site at Heidelberg USA in Kennesaw, PIAG also provides transportation for contestants. Below is an timeline for transportation to the 2010 Statewide SkillsUSA graphic communication and advertising design training day and competition.


Thursday, March 11 (Training Day)
9:00 am - Bus picks up from the Airport Marriott for transportation to Heidelberg
10:00 am - Program starts at Heidelberg
2:30 pm - Bus picks up ad design students at Heidelberg
3:15 pm - Expected arrival of ad design students at Airport Marriott
4:00 pm - Bus picks up graphic communications students at Heidelberg
5:00 pm - Expected arrival of graphic communications students at the Airport Marriott

Friday, March 12 (Competition)
8:30 am - Bus picks up from the Airport Marriott for transportation to Heidelberg
9:30 am - Competition begins at Heidelberg
3:30 pm - Bus picks up students at Heidelberg
4:30 pm - Expected arrival of students at the Airport Marriott

Virtual Tours on Graph Comm Net

If you haven't been to Graph Comm Central in a while, it's worth a visit. The site is quite snazzy and has a whole list of virtual printing tours, as well as information for students on careers in the printing industry.

FREE Ink

Here is an email I received from Ashley Lenz, PIAG Marketing Manager. If you'd like the ink, please contact Leo this week.

I received a call from Leo Mascheck in Duluth Ga (right around Satellite & Boggs Rd.) - he is clearing out a warehouse and at the loading dock they’ve got 8-10 palettes of printing inks that are available for FREE to anyone who will come pick them up. Some have not even been opened. I have contact Wikoff to see if they know anyone who might be able to pick them up, but wanted to open the opportunity up to schools, too. They need everything gone by the end of this week. Spread the word! His number is 678.386.2987.

PIAG Lean Roadshow is "Mucho Helpful"

Attendees are saying this week's PIAG Roadshow was "Mucho Helpful" and "the best part is the effective balance between hands-on exercises and presentation". On Sept. 23 the Roadshow will be in Macon and in Savannah on Sept. 24. The Lean Roadshow is in Columbus on Oct. 7.

Sign up today by going to www.piag.org/lean. If you can't make it in person, follow PIAG on twitter @PIAGGeorgia. We'll have links to a live stream of the program. Remember, participants receive a FREE onsite assessment of their plant.

Want to see the recording of the Atlanta event? Go to any of the links below

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/2171220
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/2171802
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/2171634
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/2171731

Tax Credits Available for Lean Programs

Implementing the suggestions presented in the PIAG sponsored and Georgia Tech Innovation Insitute lead program Lean Roadshow: On the Road to Lean and Green could save printers significantly. In addition to the lean savings, the government is offering tax credits.

A company can qualify for the Georgia Retraining Tax Credit as long as some element of the program is implemented in the plant. The tax credit can cover up to 50 percent of all the printer's training expenses, including cost of the training, travel and wages paid to employees attending the training.

For more information on the Lean Roadshow: On the Road to Lean and Green go to www.piag.org/lean. To watch a preview of the program click here. If you do not have the FREE Silverlight software, you will need to download that before viewing the presentation.

For more information on tax credits for training, contact Terry McMillian at 706-302-7725.

Learn How to Make Money, Be Competitive, Grow

Last week, the Georgia Innovation Institute presented a short, half hour webinar giving attendees a preview of the PIAG fall Lean Road Show. If you missed the webinar, no worries, you can download it here and watch it on demand.

Derek Woodham of Georgia Tech's Innovation Institute explained what lean is and what it can do for your business through discussion and a case study of other printers that have worked with GT. So if you'd like to make more money; be more competitive; grow; and sustain and create jobs; don't miss this preview and the PIAG fall Lean Road Show.

To view the Preview Webinar on Demand, register here and an email is sent immediately. Once you receive the email, click on the presentation. You need to download the free Silverlight software before viewing the presentation.