Ed Chalifoux

The Printing Industries of America/Graphic Arts Technical Foundation (PIA/GATF) is pleased to announce the installation of its 2009 Officers and Board of Directors. An installation ceremony took place on November 16, 2008 at PIA/GATF's Fall Administrative Meetings.

NEVER BEFORE has the face of the commercial printing industry changed so drastically, so quickly or so permanently. After one of the worst hurricanes in U.S. history hit New Orleans in August 2005, two-thirds of The Big Easy’s printers were gone. Pre-Katrina, there were 120 printers in the New Orleans area. After Katrina, there were (are) only 36. The math is almost unbelievable, but the numbers do not lie. These grim statistics come from the Printing Industry Association of the South (PIAS). Ed Chalifoux, president, provides the surreal details. “After Katrina, most printers just shut their doors. Seventy-five percent of shops with 10 employees

THE GULF COAST—It was, in the words of Ed Chalifoux, a tale of two cities in and around New Orleans. Neither story offered a happy conclusion. Chalifoux, the Printing Industry Association of the South's (PIAS) president, embarked on a 2,000-mile drive to visit members in the Mississippi cities of Jackson and Biloxi, and Louisiana cities including Baton Rouge and New Orleans. The Big Easy offered a Jekyll and Hyde perspective. "...in the western section of New Orleans, I saw green grass, businesses open and people returning to their homes—a community trying to get back to normalcy," Chalifoux wrote in a letter to PIAS members. "Normal is

NEW ORLEANS—As the Gulf Coast continues to rebuild in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the printing industry—like much of the country—is doing whatever it can to ease the hardships experienced by the displaced citizens. For example, Xerox has pledged $2 million in cash and technical assistance. During PRINT 05 & CONVERTING 05, Böwe Bell + Howell and Komori Corp., among others, announced donations and employee matching funds for relief groups such as the American Red Cross. The Graphic Arts Show Co. also sought charitable contributions from show attendees. According to Ed Chalifoux, president of the Printing Industry Association of the South (PIAS)—which covers