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Press Release Issued by the PIA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW PLASTICS INDUSTRY AWARD PROGRAM ESTABLISHED BY PLASTICS INSTITUTE OF AMERICA FOR 'TEAM MEMBERS' OF HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

First Awards Given Out at Recent Plastics Industry Gala Attended by Multiple Luminaries

LOWELL, MA— The Plastics Institute of America, Inc. (PIA) has launched a new plastics awards program. Called Team Member Awards, this recognition is conferred upon the spouses, companions, or key associates of Plastics Hall of Fame members. The first presentations of these awards were bestowed upon Team Members at special August 16, 2003 celebrations and ceremonies for recent Plastics Hall of Fame inductees and Plastics Institute of America board members at the Marriott Hotel Grand Ballroom in Newton, Massachusetts.

The event was held to honor and acknowledge the Plastics Hall of Fame Induction of Nick Rosato (and celebrate his 60th wedding anniversary). Luminaries attending included David Hahn, President of the National Plastics Center & Museum, Martin K. Pottle, Chairman of the Plastics Institute of America, Louis Luedtke, President and CEO of the National Composite Center, Aldo M. Crugnola, Executive Director of the Plastics Institute of America, plus Plastics Hall of Fame members as well as top professionals from throughout the plastics industry.

According to PIA Executive Director Aldo M. Crugnola, "We took to heart the adage that 'behind every great man (or woman), there is a great woman (or man)' who often goes unheralded or unrecognized. Thus we conceived this Team Member Award to recognize those spouses, companions, or key associates of Plastics Hall of Fame Inductees, without whom such achievements by them would have been more difficult or less possible." The actual awards are specially designed silver medallions accompanied by scrolls (see enclosures) inscribed to the individual Team Member.

Initial presentations of personalized medallions and scrolls were bestowed upon:

• Patsy Beall, primary Team Member to 1997 Hall of Fame Inductee Glenn L. Beall,
• Joan Deanin, primary Team Member to 2000 Hall of Fame Inductee Rudolph D. Deanin (accepted by Dr. Rudolph D. Deanin),
• Nancy Estabrook, primary Team Member to 2003 Hall of Fame Inductee F. Reed Estabrook, Jr.,
• Miriam Gigliotti, primary Team Member to 2003 Hall of Fame Inductee Michael F.X. Gigliotti, and
• Virginia Rosato, primary Team Member to 2003 Hall of Fame Inductee Dominick V. Rosato.

Medallions and scrolls were also prepared and mailed to other 2003 Hall of Fame Inductee Team Members who were not present. These were:

• Donna Belcher, primary Team Member to 2003 Hall of Fame Inductee Samuel L. Belcher,
• Sue Kretzschmar, primary Team Member to 2003 Hall of Fame Inductee John R. Kretzschmar, and
• Irene Spaak, primary Team Member to 2003 Hall of Fall Inductee Albert Spaak.

This new award recognition program was conceived, designed, and presented by PIA board member and Secretary Marlene E. Gosling and PIA board member Dr. Donald V. Rosato, ably assisted by PIA Chairman Martin K. Pottle, with PIA Executive Director Dr. Aldo M. Crugnola, Associate Director A. G. Manny Panos, and PIA board members Angelo R. Firenze, Michael F. X. Gigliotti, Dominick V. Rosato, Dr. Nick R. Schott, and Marjorie Weiner in attendance.

Special guests at the celebration were Plastics Hall of Fame members and noted designer Glenn L. Beall and entrepreneur F. Reed Estabrook, Jr., Adaptive Instruments LLC President Angelo R. Firenze, long-time SPE industry activist and Bayer Polymers LLC Design Manager Kishor Mehta, global engineering services provider and Gander International Inc. President Marlene E. Gosling, leading marketing communications specialist and Martin Thomas Inc. President Martin K. Pottle, renowned UMASS Lowell Plastics Engineering Professors Aldo M. Crugnola, Rudolph D. Deanin, Stephen B. Driscoll, Robert E. Nunn, and Nick R. Schott, the respected National Plastics Center & Museum's Keith Lauer, Linda Ball, and Maranatha Freiburg, and many others.

The PIA Executive Director notes that the PIA seeks to enlist the support of, and is open to working with other appropriate plastics organizations on this new recognition program. These might include the Plastics Academy (PA), Plastics Pioneers Association (PPA), National Plastics Center & Museum (NPCM), and nationally focused trade groups like the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI), Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE), American Plastics Council (APC), American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA), Association of Rotational Molders (ARM), and/or the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE), among others.

Related Attachments:

Photo and text accompanying the new award

The PIA is a 40+ year old non-profit educational and research organization headquartered in Lowell, MA. Principal activities of the PIA include offering on-site and off-site educational training courses to companies globally, as a means to complement, not compete with, other organizations and firms.

For more information on the PIA, its activities, joining and other information, contact: UMass Lowell, 333 Aiken Street, Lowell, MA 01854. Tel: (978) 934-3130. Fax: (978) 458-4141. eMail:   Web Site: www.plasticsinstitute.org

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The Plastics Institute of America, Inc.
UMass-Lowell Campus, Wannalancit Center
600 Suffolk Street
CVIP, 2nd Fl South
Lowell, Ma. 01854
Phone: (978) 934-3130
Fax: (978) 458-4141
E-mail:

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