Page 63 - Print21 July-August 2022

Association News
The business of people
People – what a pleasure they are, and I say that quite sincerely. The last month has been spent connecting with people face to face again, and it has reinforced just how important the business of people really is, and how much it means to be able to see them again. As an association, our members are our blood, and having limited contact over the last two years has been like missing your family, so it has been such a positive feeling to re-establish those connections in person.
It started with the 29th
Pride In Print Awards held in Christchurch in mid-June. We hosted 400 people in a brand new venue, and it was so great to be able to see people sans masks, and celebrating the amazing work that our industry produces. It was exciting to hear the noise of 400 people having pre-Award drinks in the foyer, and then watch with pleasure as the winners were announced.
With 160 gold medals, 13 category winners, 8 process winners, and an outstanding Supreme Award winner, there was much to be excited about. And it was great to be able to congratulate the winners with a handshake and a hug, and touch base with so many in the industry that we have been unable to see.
As part of the Awards we also hosted the Industry Training Awards, which are the people part of the event – showcasing our Training Company of the Year, Trainer of the Year, and the big one, Apprentice of the Year.
Being able to interview the top fi e candidates face to face this year meant we were able
to get a much greater feel for who they were, their work and their passion for the industry. All fi e of them shone and their stories were inspiring - choosing a winner came down to splitting hairs. Their understanding and enthusiasm for the work they had produced was second to none – the detail they went into reinforced the fact that print is
Making connections a pleasure: Ruth Cobb, CEO, PrintNZ
Ruth Cobb, CEO of PrintNZ, refl cts on what really matters in business, as we all get back to person to person contact.
Face-to-face: Better than zoom
a craft and confi med the need to continue to train people to ensure that the future of our industry is in good hands.
Then I had the long awaited opportunity to hop on a plane and head across the Tasman to PacPrint – which like many other events was being held
a year later than scheduled. While it was a slightly smaller show than in previous years, there was still plenty to see, and again it was about the people we saw there – both vendors and purchasers. It was hard to go
fi e steps without bumping into someone you knew, and again having a chance to catch up in person let you have far more in-depth conversations than you would via phone or zoom.
Being able to see the technology on display again
was also important. As someone commented to me, they hadn’t realised how much the technology had changed
in the last three years because they hadn’t been able to see
it in person, or to have it fully explained to them. And certainly there seemed to be plenty of sales made over the four days. For me it was an opportunity
to renew relationships with the
other organisations we work with in Australia and look at plans for the future.
Finally, I am attending the
NZ Sign & Display Association conference – the fi st conference I have attended in three years. This is a reat networking event and is an important part of building on the relationship
we already have with NZSDA, looking to collaborate on more projects as the synchronicities of our two associations move closer.
Being able to work in partnership on projects is good for both our organisations
and for the members as it removes duplication of effort and allows for cross-pollination of ideas. Everyone in business is trying to work smarter
and more effectively, and as
an organisation we are no different, and we look forward to developing this further over the next 12 months.
People working with people, for people – that is what industry associations are all about and it has been a pleasure to make both old and new connections across the many platforms our industry provides – long may it continue. 21
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