Kingery's Westendorf Receives State Award

(KINGERY PRINTING PRESIDENT MICHAEL KINGERY WITH PAULA WESTENDORF)

Kingery Printing Company is honored to announce Paula Westendorf as the recipient of the Women in Print Excellence Award for the State of Illinois.

Paula received her award Wednesday, June 7 at the Great Lakes Graphics Association (GLGA) Graphics Excellence Awards Banquet in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. In attendance were husband Dave Westendorf, along with eight other members of the Kingery Printing team cheering Paula on in front of hundreds of peers, colleagues, and competitors in the print industry.

Along with this prestigious individual award for Paula, Kingery Printing received five Best in Category Awards and three Best of Division Awards.

The Women in Print Excellence Awards support GLGA’s ongoing quest to recognize the contributions of women in the Midwest print, graphic arts, finishing, and print packaging community as well as those women who support the print industry in a vendor or supplier capacity. Any woman working directly in print or in a vendor role supporting print who was in good standing with her company in Illinois, Indiana, or Wisconsin was eligible to be nominated.

The nominations were reviewed by a panel of female print professionals outside of the Midwest, who selected one recipient per state. Some of the selection criteria for the Women in Print Excellence Award include: a passion for print, experience in a print organization, community advocacy, and mentoring.

Westendorf, a Teutopolis native, has been with Kingery Printing for over 35 years. She began in the Finishing Department in 1984. Her career took her through various positions in the Planning and Imposition Department to her current role as Planning and Imposition Supervisor. Paula oversees contract review, planning, and imposition teams.

A Kingery Printing spokesperson said, "Paula literally impacts every live job traveling through Kingery Printing plants. Her extensive knowledge of our pre-press standards, presses, binders, finishing equipment, and paper inventory make her uniquely qualified to handle these daunting tasks. In addition to Paula’s leadership here at KPC, Paula also serves her community and church. She has served in leadership positions for the Ladies Sodality and the church picnic board at St. Francis Church in Teutopolis, Illinois. She freely gives her time and energy to the Teutopolis Post Prom and other youth events in the community."

Paula still resides in her hometown of Teutopolis, where she and husband Dave Westendorf raised their two children, Jason and Brooke.

About the Great Lakes Graphics Association: The Great Lakes Graphics Association is the trade association dedicated to representing the graphic arts industry throughout Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin through education, promotion, and public affairs. It represents approximately 13 percent of the total print market in the United States with its three-state region, accounting for combined annual shipments of nearly $19 billion. Founded in 1886, GLGA celebrated its 135 year anniversary in 2021 and continues to be the oldest print trade association in North America.

For more information about Kingery Printing, please visit KingeryPrinting.com