Idealliance and Printing Industries Alliance have announced that the Meek School’s own Dr. Samir Husni -“Mr. Magazine™” – has been named one of four winners of the 2018 Franklin Luminaire Awards.

Husni, of the University of Mississippi’s Meek School of Journalism and New Media, Chris Harrold of Mohawk Fine Papers, Rebecca Pappas of BizBash Media, and John G. Sommers, Jr., of Allied Printing Services will be recipients of 2018 Franklin Luminaire Awards.

The awards, which recognize exceptional professionals for their positive contribution and service within the media and graphic communications industry, will be presented at the annual Franklin Luminaire Awards event Oct. 17 at The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers in New York City. Event sponsorships are available and are offered at early bird rates through July 31.

“The annual Franklin Luminaire Awards event provides an opportunity for professionals from every sector of our industry to come together and recognize the contributions of incredibly talented and dedicated individuals who have proven their commitment to excellence,” said Meghan Milkowski, co-chair of the Franklin Luminaire Committee and vice president of Operations-Print Group at Dow Jones.

Franklin Luminaire Committee Co-Chair Steve Drew, of the Sales Executive-Magazine Group at LSC Communications, said they look forward to honoring the four outstanding industry professionals and expressing their appreciation for their singular contributions to the industry during the awards program.

“Some 400 industry members attend this event each year, a testament to the strength of our industry and the contributions made by our honorees during their careers,” he said.

Samir “Mr. Magazine™” Husni, Ph.D., is the founder and director of the Magazine Innovation Center at The University of Mississippi. He is also professor and Hederman Lecturer at the university’s School of Journalism and New Media.

As Mr. Magazine™, he engages in media consulting and research for the magazine media and publishing industry in the United States and across the globe. Husni has written books and presented seminars on the future of print in a digital age. His latest book, Print Proud Digital Smart: The Book of Quotes, was published in March of this year.

Chris Harrold is vice president and creative director at Mohawk Fine Papers in Cohoes, N.Y., where he has responsibility for brand management, strategic market development, and creative direction for the company’s product and marketing campaigns.

Harrold joined Mohawk in 1990, holding positions from sales to marketing, and played a pivotal role establishing Mohawk as a market leader in digital printing. He is a Lynda.com author and speaks extensively on the role printing and paper play in design.

Harrold holds a bachelor’s degree in art history from the State University of New York Oswego and an MFA degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology College of Imaging Arts & Sciences.

Rebecca Pappas is vice president of production, customer service, and audience development at BizBash Media in New York. She previously served as director of publisher relations at Qmags, where she worked with more than 50 publishers to manage the production, distribution, and marketing strategies of the digital editions of some of the industry’s largest B2B media companies, and as director of circulation and manufacturing for BZ Media, a multi-title publisher in the IT space, where she worked with the newly formed BPA Worldwide’s Digital Task Force to help formulate digital edition audit rules and requirements.

John G. Sommers, Jr., president and CEO of Allied Printing Services, Manchester, Connecticut., grew up in and around his family’s business, working through school vacations to learn the printing industry from the “ground up.” He studied business finance at Stonehill College.

After graduation, he joined the family business earlier than planned because his father, company president and CEO, felt the business needed him to make an immediate impact during the economic recession. He worked in all internal departments at Allied, followed by outside sales, and was named president in 2011, shortly before his father’s untimely passing in 2013. Since that time, Allied has grown significantly and consistently reinvested in new equipment and technology under his leadership.

Idealliance, a global thought leader in the graphic communications industry since 1896, is a non-profit industry organization with 11 strategically located offices around the world. Idealliance serves brands; content and media creators; manufacturers; service providers in mail, marketing, print and packaging; and material suppliers and technology partners worldwide.