PIAG Announces Winners of SkillsUSA Georgia Competitions

(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.