Download Photos at :
Fuji Kiosk: http://www.thomas-pr.com/136/photos/pmdakiosk.html
Kodak Kiosk: http://www.thomas-pr.com/136/photos/pmdakiosk2.html
Hank Hayashi, Fuji: http://www.thomas-pr.com/136/photos/pmdahayashi.html
Ed Wagner/Rudy Maschke: http://www.thomas-pr.com/136/photos/pmdawagner.html
White House News Press Association: http://www.thomas-pr.com/136/photos/pmdapressphoto.html
For release, click: http://www.thomas-pr.com/pressreleases/pmdapersonoftheyear.html
Contact:
Karen Thomas
Thomas PR
(631) 549-7575
kthomas@thomas-pr.com
http://www.thomas-pr.com
PMDA ANNOUNCES PERSON OF THE YEAR AWARD:
THE PHOTO KIOSK
Awards Also Given to Photo Luminaries for Lifetime & Technical Achievement and Professional Photographer
NY, NY, November 16, 2005 — The PhotoImaging Manufacturers & Distributors Association (PMDA) http://www.pmda.com announced today the prestigious annual PMDA Awards given to outstanding individuals and services in the photographic industry. The awards will be given out at the annual PMDA awards dinner on Saturday, February 25, 2006, to be held at the Caribe Royal Hotel in Orlando, Florida, the night before the annual PMA show.
The winner of this year’s “Person of the Year” Award is the Photo Kiosk. In addition, the “Photographer Award” will be given to the White House News Photographers Association (WHNPA); the winner of the “Technical Achievement” Award will be Naoki Tomino, Nikon Corporation; and the “Norman C. Lipton Lifetime Achievement” Award will be given to Rudy Maschke and Ed Wagner.
Person of the Year Award
“The Photo Kiosk, while an unconventional pick for Person of the Year, is one of today’s most influential players. Like a person, the Photo Kiosk conveniently stands at a multitude of retail stores, waiting to help people easily improve and make their digital prints and enlargements that will serve as memories on paper for future generations. The Photo Kiosk is changing the way people print pictures. It is a fundamental building block of the imaging infrastructure, making it one of the major keys to our industry’s continued growth and prosperity,” stated Stacie Errera, Chief Marketing Officer, Tamron USA, Inc. and President of PMDA.
Photo Kiosks are poised to change the way consumers print their photos. With a lower cost per print than home photo printers and more easily accessible, Photo Kiosks are becoming consumers’ preferred method of printing. According to PMA’s March 2005 study, digital prints made at retail stores grew 105 %, whereas home printer volume only grew by 1%. To honor this rapid increase in photo printing at retail, PMDA will award the Photo Kiosk as the “Person of the Year.” Accepting the award will be Photo Kiosk manufacturers Hank Hayashi, Sr. Executive Vice President, Fuji Photo Film USA and Patrick D. King, General Manager, Consumer Output, and Vice President, Eastman Kodak Company, as well as executives from the two top installing retailers in the US, Grant Pill, CVS; and Joe Lisuzzo and Sharon Whibben from Wal-Mart.
Technical Achievement Award:
Naoki Tomino, Managing Director, Member of the Board, and Senior Executive Officer/ Vice President, Nikon Corporation, has been instrumental in the development and design of an astonishingly large number of highly advanced and sophisticated film and digital cameras and associated photographic technologies. His engineering expertise, design vision and leadership skills have played an essential role in the success of Nikon’s products, including the new flagship professional digital SLR — the D2X, the sales-record setting D70/ D70s, and the most advanced 35mm SLR ever — the F6. PMDA recognizes these achievements by awarding Naoki Tomino the “Technical Achievement” Award.
Photographer Award:
Since the beginning of the White House News Photographer’s Association (WHNPA) in 1921, WHNPA members have been covering events and activities of major world importance, traveling with presidents, photographing royalty, diplomats and newsmakers. They have been at the forefront of video and photographic technology, and they have recorded some of the world’s greatest moments. Through the years, many of these images have become part of history. Because of this illustrious background, PMDA honors the White House News Photographer’s Association with the “Photographer Award.” Accepting the award on behalf of the association will be Susan Walsh, President of WHNPA.
Norman C. Lipton Lifetime Achievement Award
Rudy Maschke and Ed Wagner first teamed up back in 1963 — two savvy, intelligent guys with a penchant for creative thinking, risk taking and hard work, who have redefined the basic concepts of trade publications and helped to transform the photo industry into the dynamic, interactive entity it is today. Those sterling qualities were also evident in both men during World War II. Rudolf Maschke, born in Berlin, Germany in 1922, escaped the horrors of the holocaust and moved to the U.S., where he served in the Navy on Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 and in Europe and the Pacific during WWII. Ed Wagner’s WWII service to his country is equally impressive. As commander of a squadron of B-25s, he served in the China-Burma-India theater and took part in dramatic and dangerous rescues of wounded soldiers in enemy-held territory.
At the respective ages of 82 and 85, Rudy Maschke and Ed Wagner are still going strong, having run Photo Industry Reporter until mid 2005, a publication they founded in 1992 virtually single-handedly–a phenomenal achievement and a testament to their courage and endurance, which has now been officially honored with PMDA’s “Lifetime Achievement” Award.
The PMDA Awards Dinner will be co-sponsored by National Geographic Magazine, who will debut a brand new audio-visual program to be seen for the first time by PMDA’s Awards Dinner audience. The PMDA Awards dinner and presentation will be held at the Caribe Royal Hotel, 8101 World Center Drive, Orlando, Florida on Saturday, February 25, 2005 the night before PMA. The reception starts at 6:00 PM. The cost for the dinner is $175 per person. For reservations, call 732-679-3460
or email: gchristopmda@aol.com. For more information, see www.pmda.com.
About PMDA
Founded in 1939, the PhotoImaging Manufacturers & Distributors Association (PMDA) has promoted the photo and digital-imaging industry for over 66 years with the emphasis on photo imaging manufacturers and distributors. PMDA provides an open forum for its members to exchange ideas and learn new technologies and business trends, in addition to administering programs that promote photography to the general public. The member companies of PMDA have a box seat on the changing product and business developments of the photo industry and a unique opportunity to network with other industry principals and managers in the receptions preceding each meeting and special event.
PMDA has also teamed up with PMA International to create the Photographic Information Council (PIC) to promote photography to the general public. PIC’s website (www.takegreatpictures.com ) provides great photo tips and techniques, celebrity photographers, contests, new product releases and projects. See PMDA’s site www.pmda.com for info.
# # #
