PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Qualprint, a division of Quality Printing Co., will be accepting two Benjamin Franklin Awards in Chicago on Sept. 11, awards akin to the Oscars for the graphic arts industry.

The "Benny" is the highest honor in the 2011 Premier Print Awards, the industry's largest and most prestigious worldwide printing competition that recognizes outstanding achievement in print production. (Benjamin Franklin, of course, being one of the nation's foremost printers back in the day.)

The award-winning Qualprint is getting two for the categories of Magazine Series and Cross Media Promotion for its work in Briefings on Talent & Leadership, a quarterly publication of Korn/Ferry International, a top global provider of talent management solutions.

"You can't produce an award-winning magazine without ferocious attention to detail, consistency, state-of-the-art technology, and great people," said Joel Kurtzman, editor-in-chief of Briefings on Talent & Leadership. "That describes Qualprint. They're really, really good. It shows in the quality of the product we produce. We've found they'll do whatever it takes to do the best job possible. They're willing to push harder and even experiment when necessary."
 
The Premier Print Awards are the printing industry's oldest and largest worldwide graphic arts competition, hosted by Printing Industries of America. In its 62nd year, the annual contest recognizes those responsible for the creation and production of superior print communications.

"The Benny winners represent the best our industry has to offer," said Michael Makin, president and CEO of Printing Industries of America.
 
This year, more than 3,200 entries were received from printing and graphic arts firms from around the world, and judges awarded the Benny to the top entry in each category.

"Everyone at Qualprint contributed to winning this prestigious award," said John G. DiSantis, president and CEO of Qualprint. "It's an honor to be recognized by the industry and the world as a company that produces award-winning print. This is a win for Qualprint, Korn/Ferry International, Insight Design, and the dedicated team that makes each issue of Briefings on Talent and Leadership such a success."
 
The Bennys will be awarded at the Premier Print Awards Gala at the Chicago Marriott Downtown.
 
For more information about Qualprint, contact June Roy-Martin at 413-442-4166.

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Jane Iredale of Iredale Mineral Cosmetics has been named the recipient of the 2011 Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce’s Business Person of the Year award. The award will be presented at a cocktail reception and tribute to Iredale on Wednesday, Sept. 14, from 5:30 to 7:30 at the Norman Rockwell Museum.

The Business Person of the Year award is given annually to a chamber member who is a role model to other business people in the community, has strong leadership qualities and maintains a positive work environment. The recipient is also honored for personal contributions to the economic, social and cultural needs of the Southern Berkshire community.

“Jane is the perfect choice for this award because of her integrity, entrepreneurial spirit and numerous personal contributions to the Southern Berkshire community that go well beyond her immediate business interests," said Chamber President Kate McCormick of McCormick, Murtagh & Marcus.

Iredale is the president and founder of Iredale Mineral Cosmetics. The company was founded in 1994 in Austerlitz, N.Y. and moved to the building it renovated at 28 Church St. in 2000.  IMC currently employs 90 people in the Great Barrington office and 60 in the field.  The company distributes into 47 countries. Its international presence is so strong that Iredale Mineral Cosmetics was recently awarded the Diplomat’s Award from the State of Massachusetts.

Iredale was the first to supply the aesthetics industry with a full line of makeup based on minerals and the first to see the potential of offering physicians a makeup that was good for the skin. 

In addition to her success with Iredale Mineral Cosmetics, Iredale is a philanthropic leader in the community. She serves on the board of The Mahaiwe Performing Arts and Shakespeare & Company.  She is a member of the Creative Economy and Berkshire Green.  She and her company have renovated four buildings on Church Street and are in the process of renovating Bryant School to serve as IMC’s World headquarters.  Three years ago, she led a volunteer effort to restore the band stand and has just put the finishing touches to Giggle Park the new children’s playground behind town hall.  “I had the idea and chose the pieces but it was my husband, Bob Montgomery, and Craig Okerstrom Lang who made it happen,” she says. 

“The Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce is honored to name Jane Iredale as the 2011 Business Person of the Year. The policies and projects she has fostered have had such a positive impact on the overall economy of south county.  Her corporate headquarters has brought renewal to part of our downtown core and she has been a generous supporter of the local creative economy and other women business owners," said Chamber Executive Director Christine Ludwiszewski.

Tickets to the Business Person of the Year cocktail reception and tribute can be purchased through the Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce for $50 per person; a “Business Leaders” package costs $250, which includes two tickets and event recognition.  Reservations must be made by Sept. 1.

For more information on this event or to learn more about sponsorship opportunities, contact Ludwiszewski at 413-528-4284 or ed@rnetworx.com. For more information about the Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, visit www.southernberkshirechamber.com.

(More iBerkshires coverage on Iredale Mineral Cosmetics can be found here.)

No one should be surprised to learn that Quality Printing Co. of Pittsfield has once again scored an award for its beautiful work.

What's even more satisfying is that it won for its most recent annual calender, "A Closer Look at the Berkshires," which was dedicated to the late Joel Librizzi.

The Printing Industries of New England gave it a Pinnacle Award for Best in Category for the 2010 calendar, which features some of the best local photography in the Berkshires. Librizzi, a longtime photojournalist for The Berkshire Eagle, had been a judge for Qualprint's calendar competition for more than a quarter-century before he died last year.

The past May, the calendar picked up a silver in a national calendar contest, the second year in a row "A Closer Look" had struck silver.

Qualprint also won a PINE award of merit for work it did for Berkshire Money Management in the association's regional Awards of Excellence Competition on Nov. 12

The presentations were made at PINE's 2010 Industry Awards Gala held at the Newton Marriott with hundreds of industry professionals in attendance. The Awards of Excellence Competition attracted more than 200 entries from 35 printing and imaging companies across New England competing in a variety of printing and graphic communications categories such as best annual report, direct mail campaign, corporate identity package, and more.

Panels of three judges with extensive experience in printing and print production were brought in to examine the wide range of work submitted. Tim Burton of Burton & Mayer, Menomonee Falls, Wis.; Paul Schmitz of Schmitz Press, Sparks, Md., and Art Stowe, former president of the Printing & Graphics Association Mid Atlantic were the judges. Each entry was judged anonymously on its own merit in a category with similar printed pieces.

The judging criteria included: registration, clarity and neatness, sharpness of halftones and line drawings, richness and tonal qualities of color, paper and ink selection, ink coverage, difficulty of printing, effective contrast or softness, overall visual impact and bindery.

VPP STAR status is the highest honor given to worksites with comprehensive, successful safety and health management systems.

According to a statement issued by Covanta "Sites such as Covanta Pittsfield are committed to effective employee protection beyond the requirements of federal standards and participants develop and implement systems to effectively identify, evaluate, prevent and control occupational hazards to prevent injuries and illnesses."

“By achieving VPP STAR status, Covanta Pittsfield employees have joined an elite group of worksites with the very best health and safety practices. I salute this dedicated group of employees for their continuous improvement and follow through to achieve this coveted designation,” said Seth Myones, president of Covanta Americas.

The keys to health and safety success under VPP are the employee engagement and ongoing involvement in on-site health and safety program development combined with long-term commitment and support from management. VPP-level recipients routinely incur injury and illness rates that are at or below the state average for their specific industry.

According to Covanta, continuous improvement of health and safety programs is central to its corporate and workplace cultures and has lead to a majority of Covanta’s North American facilities earning the prestigious VPP STAR status. Covanta Pittsfield is one of 35 worksites in Massachusetts to have received the honor.

Covanta Pittsfield processes 240 tons per day of solid waste generated from residential and commercial operations throughout Berkshire County. Annually, the plant produces some 400 million pounds of steam as well as 3.5 million kW hours of electricity used in-house for facility operations. The steam generated daily by the Energy-from-Waste facility and used by adjacent paper company Crane & Co., avoids the use of 16,000 gallons of oil per day.

For more information about Covanta, visit www.covantaenergy.com.

LENOX, Mass.  If you're meeting on the East Coast, Cranwell's the place to go.

That's according to Meetings East Magazine, a leading conference planners publication, which gave Cranwell Resort, Spa and Golf Club its Best of the East Award, the fourth time the resort has been honored with this distinction.
 
Readers of Meetings East vote annually for their favorite meeting properties on the East Coast based on the following criteria: quality of the meeting space; guest rooms; guest services and amenities; food and beverage service; high-tech services and equipment; recreational facilities and activities; the efficiency and helpfulness of staff; and overall value and experience.
 
Cranwell has long been a favorite destination for a wide variety of meetings and events for up 200 guests; it recently hosted the annual meeting of the Massachusetts Governors Association and is also used for such social events as proms and weddings.

We can attest to the to lovely atmosphere and dining at the resort, having attended our share of (but not enough) weddings, meetings and dinners in its beautifully appointed dining rooms.

The resort features 15,000 square feet of event space including a spacious ballroom with panoramic hilltop views and a board room in an historic Gilded Age mansion. The property offers complimentary wireless Internet access throughout the resort.

For more information, call 800-272-6935 or visit www.cranwell.com.