WPT joins IEGA…a letter from the president

September 28, 2009

Dear Fellow WPT Members,

Based on the feedback I have received, as well as my own experience, the 2009 joint IEGA/WPT Annual Conference was an excellent event with timely and relevant content. We had great speakers, networking opportunities, lots of fun and a very fine wine tasting.

While I missed some of you there, I understand these tough economic times have called for all of us to make changes to our regular routines, which kept some from attending. The past two years have been tough on trade associations as well. Those of us that make up the WPT realized a long time ago that changes would have to be made if we wanted to keep our group together. After a great deal of discussion, the conference concluded with the following resolution:

“Be it ersolved this July 11, 2009, that it is our intention as individual members of the Worldwide Printing Thermographers Association to resign as individual members and place the formal organization in hiatus until we deem it needed again. Further, as individuals we intend to join the IEGA under their leadership but with the intentions of promoting thermogprahy within their organization as an operatin committee.”

Since the WPT will no longer be in operation as a distinct association, you will receive a membership invoice from IEGA after the first of the year. Do not think of this as a dissolution of our identity. The combination of our associations provides new opportunities to reach out to the more thermographers and other specialty printers and to educate our target markets to the value of what our specialties bring to ink on paper.

Our first mid-year meeting as a group will be held Friday, January 29th back at the Horseshoe Bay Resort in Marble Falls, Texas. Two current WPT board members, WPT Vice President, Joel Isenstein, and I, will join the IEGA board as general members. Joel and I are looking forward to seeing all of you at the meeting as we move into this new chapter of our existence. We are invigorated by this opportunity for us to grow wit the IEGA and hope you make the decision to grow with us.

Sincerely,
Amy Sterling
President, WPT