Promoting the industry ~ Focused on Members Success
Promoting the industry ~ Focused on Members Success
This past weekend Jimmy Faulkenberry, your current chairman, and I went to Ocracoke Island, NC. What a pleasant peaceful weekend (can you say bike week Myrtle Beach). We were there to visit with a group of printers. While in Ocaracoke, the value of PICA became more apparent. This was a close knit group, much like the camaraderie that is shared among PICA members. Members can discuss the issues they are experiencing with customers, marketing, production and the business of running a company. By sharing with one another, one can feel he/she is not on an island alone. We are all experience the same issues and being able to discuss them with others can help us be better in our personal efforts.
PICA can also help in a variety of other ways. Case in point, when our workman's compensation insurance came due this year, our former carrier had a fifty percent increase. After checking with Jim Muse of Edward Church and Muse, the new exclusive insurance agency of PICA, their organization was able to reduce the current premium by thirty percent. This savings justified my PICA dues for the next two years.
Jim Kyger, Assistant Vice President of Human Relations, at Printing Industries of America, made a tour through the Carolinas last fall. The purpose of his visits were to inform the association of the upcoming changes in health care reform. This was very beneficial in knowing what to expect when the bills that passed congress became law. It gave me an insight to what was coming down the pipe, so when our health insurance came up for renewal I had some idea of what to expect. Another benefit he offered was to take our business card and put us on his email list. I know just what you want more junk emails and this is what I thought as well. This email correspondence is among other HR personnel thought out the country. If a member of Printing Industries of American has an HR question, he can put it out through this email and get free advice as to what other companies are doing. While you may not have the issue at the present, it allows you to give some thought as to how you might address the situation. Last week two of the issues that were being discussed were headphone in the shop area and closed toed shoes. We do not have a policy about head phones, but several of the responding companies did and they gave justifiable reasons as to why head phones were not allowed in the production area. It provided food for further thought for me. As far as closed toed shoes in the production area, this email exchange provided validation as to why we do not allow open toed shoes for production personnel.
PICA can assist all of us in variety of different ways at different times, the only caveat for gaining this information is to get involved. So I encourage you to engage yourself and reap the benefits that PICA has to offer.
Chairman, PICA Board of Directors
The Printing Port
(843) 236-1225 Office
