FTA presents three President’s Awards

Leo Suokus, Ian Hole and David Lanska were presented with Flexographic Technical Association (FTA) President’s Awards, in honor of their efforts to advance the flexographic printing and converting community, at the Foundation of FTA’s Annual Forum at Orlando’s Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotel.
Leo Suokus of George Brown College, Toronto, Canada, spearheaded the incorporation of flexo into the graphics curriculum at the school in 1982. Leo coordinated creation of the industry-wide Flexo Presswise Program, inaugurated in January 1993. It now boasts more than 300 graduates across Canada and is still going strong. Leo will retire at the close of this school year, but his contributions to flexo education in Canada will long be remembered.
Ian Hole, of Esko-Graphics has shown untiring support of flexo education and industry advancement through a variety of means. A well-recognized figure on the FFTA speaking circuit, Ian has been a frequent participant in a number of Forum programs, conferences and seminars, including FTA’s annual Latin American tour, where he also serves on the organizing committee.
Ian has also been an expert judge in the FTA Excellence in Flexography Awards Competition for the past two years. His involvement on important flexo industry standards initiatives such as FIRST (Flexographic Image Reproduction Specifications and Tolerances) and the Committee for Graphic Arts Technologies Standards (CGATS) is seen as vital to the FTA’s ongoing drive to elevate quality and consistency across all print segments.
David Lanska of Stork Materials Technology, Cellramic Division, has served as a valuable member of the FTA Environmental Committee, contributed to The Flexo Environment & Virtual Flexo Plant and judged the annual Environmental Excellence Awards Competition. David has also presented papers at the National Environmental Health & Safety Conference on two occasions. He’s been a frequent speaker at FFTA’s Annual Forum, and has been affectionately dubbed FTA’s very own “Turbo Member” for his great accomplishments in recruiting new FTA members.