Kevin Bourquin, Catherine Haynes and Laura Wright Receive 2022 FTA President’s Award

The selection of FTA members to receive the annual President’s Award distinction is the result of a collaborative process that takes into consideration a variety of factors, all focusing on individuals who have demonstrated a strong support of the core values that FTA/FFTA advocates.

This organization has consistently advanced and prospered as the result of a dedicated volunteer base representing committed individuals who see the value of offering their time and talent for the collective good of the flexographic business community. Leaders don’t wait to be asked. They don’t take their commitments lightly. They formulate their action plan and see themselves involved in areas that best utilize their talents. As a result, the entire industry benefits!

Kevin Bourquin, vice president of operations with Cyber Graphics, is very familiar to all those who have attended an FTA Fall Conference or FORUM over the years. His active participation as speaker, session chair and overall program chair are too numerous to summarize here. Kevin’s volunteerism and assistance to the Association extends to areas off the stage as well, playing an involved behind-the-scenes role in several important committees and awards competitions. He is highly sought after by his peers as someone who supports technological advancements and works intensely to successfully implement them.

As a graduate of Clemson University, Kevin has always recognized the importance of education and continues to support it through his active participation as a Phoenix Challenge College Competition judge, in addition to serving as mentor both at Clemson and the Memphis Institute of Leadership Education. In the pages of FLEXO Magazine, he has shared his extensive prepress expertise helping all members of the supply chain understand what it takes to achieve excellence in print. Kevin assists FTA and its members whenever and wherever he can…and for that we sincerely recognize him for his commitment and service!

Catherine Haynes, director of digital solutions and training at All Printing Resources, is also very familiar to the FTA membership as an individual who confirms through all her accomplishments that her passion for industry training and workforce development goes far beyond her daily job. As an active contributor to multiple versions of FIRST, she also proved that she practices what she preaches as one of the early adopters in achieving FIRST Certification as an Implementation Specialist. Also a graduate of Clemson University (summa cum laude no less!) where she continues as a dedicated industry partner, Catherine understands and supports the importance of industry research through her active involvement in many Flexo Quality Consortium (FQC) projects over the years, where she currently serves as a member of the FQC Executive Committee.

If you’ve attended FORUM or Fall Conference over the years, you have no doubt witnessed Catherine on stage, most likely adding a little levity to her presentation or session. A recurrent speaker or session chair, she firmly believes that educational programs don’t have to be dry as dust in order to be effective. Along the way, Catherine offers her time and talent as a member/chair of the FLEXO Editorial Advisory Committee as well as on workforce development projects where she is actively involved in the area of mentorship within the FTA Women of Flexo initiative. A huge thank you to Catherine for always answering the call and stepping up when needed!

Laura Wright, CEO with CSW Inc, is a perfect example of how career paths can certainly take a turn as she earned a degree from Wesleyan University in Biological Anthropology. The flexographic industry and FTA are much better off as a result of her decision! Going back to the formative days of the Technical Education Services Team (TEST) educational initiative, Laura served as a member of the TEST Oversight Committee and was instrumental in its establishment. A strong believer in industry education, she provided her insight from the executive perspective on the importance of training for companies along with the need to document its return to organizations in order to be successful. While having served as FORUM session chair in the past, Laura is this year’s program Co-chair, advancing to the role of overall Chair for FORUM 2023. One of her more recent roles is as Chair of the Leadership Development Team on the Women of Flexo initiative.

Delivering value to the FTA membership is important to Laura and understanding member needs is critical to fulfilling that charge. Serving as the current Chair of the FTA Membership Committee, she has found this to be a perfect opportunity to apply her business skills to foster association membership development. And, demonstrating her commitment at the highest level of FTA leadership, Laura finishes her second year as Chair-Elect on the FFTA Board of Trustees, as she will soon be elevated to FFTA Board Chair for the coming two years. Always an absolute pleasure to work with wherever she commits her time and talent, it’s an understatement to say, Laura, you’re making a big difference through your efforts!

With this being my final year selecting candidates to receive an FTA President’s Award, I would be remiss if I didn’t give an honorary award to the people throughout the years that have definitely contributed to my success…members of the FTA staff past and present. True to the adage—You’re Only As Good As Your Team—I give a standing ovation to the collective members of my team from start to finish. I particularly thank my two mentors and predecessors as president—George Parisi and Bill Dowdell. Two very different individuals, yet both having a great deal to offer when it came to association management!

Here’s hoping they’re writing about you next year!