The Golden Wrapper

Graymills Establishes 2nd Place Phoenix Challenge Scholarship

By Christian R. Bonawandt

It was a hand-written surprise, left with dramatic nonchalance on the chair. Bettylyn Krafft, chairman of the Phoenix Challenge Foundation, was cleaning up after a successful luncheon at Foundation of Flexographic Technical Association (FFTA)'s 2006 Forum. She and other presenters had addressed a crowd of flexographic printing professionals about the momentous progress of the International Phoenix Challenge High School Flexo Skills Competition, its impact on the students, and other projects being worked on by the foundation.

What at first may have appeared to be garbage actually turned out to be a significant donation to the competition! Krafft and several industry and student volunteers flexo-printed special candy wrappers as a promotion for the Phoenix Challenge. The inside of the wrappers contained information and form to fill out for anyone interested in making donations. Here was one, completely filled out, promising a respectable sum.

"I was so thrilled," exclaimed Krafft. "To find that wrapper totally made my day."

The mysterious benefactors turned out to be FTA Hall of Famer Jerry Shields, chairman and CEO of Graymills Corp. and his son Craig, who is general manager.  Both Shields’ had been so impressed by what they saw and heard at the luncheon that they felt they had to make a contribution. "I had heard about the Phoenix Challenge," Jerry said. "But I never fully understood how important it was to the future of FTA and the flexo industry, along with it's implications to the students.”

The dedication and hard work of the volunteers, as well as the impact it has on the students, opened the Shields' eyes to the value of the Phoenix Challenge. "Once the presenters finished explaining all the good that came out of it, we realized the depth of program. The effort that is being put into this program by the individuals that make it all happen is astonishing."

Later that day, while sitting at her booth on the INFO*FLEX Exhibition show floor, Krafft was approached by Shields, who made another bold and generous offer—that Graymills sponsor a $500 scholarship to the second-place winners of the Phoenix Challenge, starting in 2007. First-place winners had already been receiving $1,000 scholarships, but Shields saw the value in the additional support. "Craig and I realized the potential impact this could have for the industry," he said. "We could see how the training and the contest could help keep these students in our industry, help them get jobs and grow the industry. Training people to take over jobs in the future has got to be our No. 1 issue."

Shields was also interested in the college-level Phoenix Challenge, which was officially announced at the luncheon. "It's a natural extension of the current Phoenix Challenge," he said. If we can get these students to stay in school and go to college, our overall chance of keeping them in the industry increases."

But the efforts need not stop there. He encouraged other industry professionals to step up and contribute to the competition. "The more people that support the training and the students and keep them interested in the industry, the more likely we are to have a talent pool flowing out of our schools that we all know we need."

Christian R. Bonawandt is associate editor of FLEXO® Magazine, the official publication of the Flexographic Technical Association (FTA). He can be contacted at 631-737-6020 ext. 31, or cbonawandt@flexography.org.