PrintingNews.com

GAA Honors Long Time Philadelphia Printer

The Graphic Arts Association has named Francis Ciociola the 2008 Neographics "Unsung Hero." He will receive this award of recognition at the Neographics dinner and awards ceremony on Thursday, May 1, at the Crystal Tea Room, Wanamaker Building, Philadelphia, at 7 p.m.

Born a son of a printer, Ciociola graduated from South Philadelphia High School and immediately started his career at Colorcrafters advancing from feeder operator, four-color pressman to pressroom foreman. In 1979, he joined Innovation Printing and Lithography as five-color pressman and pressroom foreman. In 1985 he was promoted to 2nd Shift Plan Manager and in 1988 to vice president of production.

During Ciociola's 26 years of supervision, Innovation Printing won countless, regional, national and international awards for "printing excellence" including five Neographics Power of Print Awards. In 2005, he retired from Innovation Printing.

Throughout his career, Ciociola unselfishly shared his knowledge, expertise and extended a helping hand to others so they could become better at printing.

Muller Supports Literacy Program

Recent statistics show that one in seven adults living in Suffolk County (Long Island, N.Y.) are functionally illiterate. Moreover, 75 percent of unemployed adults in the county are nonreaders and nearly 45 percent of adults living below the poverty level do not possess the basic reading and writing skills to improve their lives.

With those statistics in mind and as a way of lending support toward the effort to battle illiteracy, Muller Martini Corp. of Hauppauge, Long Island, has joined with the Book Manufacturers' Institute Inc. (BMI) to provide monetary donations to Literacy Suffolk—an organization that effects countywide change by working to improve individual literacy skills through the use of trained volunteers and by expanding community awareness.

BMI, a nationally recognized trade association of the book manufacturing industry, requested assistance from its membership locally, asking members to recommend worthy organizations.

Muller Martini, a provider of equipment used in book manufacturing and a BMI member, then sought out the Literacy Suffolk program as a donation recipient. Muller Martini contributed $2,000, and BMI matched that amount. Werner Naegeli, president and CEO of Muller Martini Corp., presented a $4,000 check to Christine Moriarty, finance director for Literacy Suffolk.