TACUP/SWACUMS JOINT CONFERENCE A HIT WITH PARTICIPANTS
Attendees praised the efforts of UH
and Rice University Printing and
Postal groups for the joint Texas
Association of College and
University Printers and Southwest
Association of College and
University Mail Services (TACUP/SWACUMS)
conference at the UH Hilton from
Oct. 24 to 26. Participants left the
conference armed with knowledge and
tools to keep their business running
successfully.
The theme of the conference was
�Will you Win, Place or Show in your
In-Plant�s Race for Success?�
focusing on remaining viable in the
industry during tough economic
times. Participants were able to
discuss the problems as well as
solutions they faced throughout the
previous year.
Interim director for Stephen F.
Austin University Printing Services,
Rebecca Galatas, praised the
experience she had at the conference
with the other attendants.
�For a new interim director such as
myself I needed a print/mail
conference such as this one to
inform me on current and future
practices in the industry. I also
appreciated all the directors that
spent some time with me going over
stories about their print shops. The
information that I learned from the
conference will really help me and
my staff take our print shop in the
direction that it needs to go to
further our university�s purpose,�
Galatas said.
During the conference, the
participants heard from speakers
representing the print, copy and
mail industries to discuss new
issues and strategies in their
field. One of the highlights of the
conference was a presentation,
�Redefine Printing: Secrets to
Success,� from UH�s very own Dr.
Jerry Waite.
�I thought Dr. Waite�s presentation
was very relevant,� said Sally
Rowland-Ketley, UH Director of
Printing and Postal Services. �He
hit all of the significant points
that relate to the industry and
economy today.�
Rowland-Ketley said many
participants commended the
presentation by Ricoh
representative, Greg Cholmondeley on
�The True Value of Your Printshop�
who discussed proving your financial
worth to the university in order to
remain viable.
The conference moved to the
Spaghetti Warehouse on Tuesday night
for a Celebrity Mystery Theatre
where selected conference
participants became actors alongside
impersonators of Sherlock Holmes,
Columbo, Julia Childs and Elvis
Presley. The audience was encouraged
to participate in solving the murder
of one of their participant�s
characters.
�That was so much fun. They just
couldn�t stop laughing,� Rowland-Ketley
said. �That was one of the best
things we�ve done in a long time.�
Print, copy and mail industry
professionals representing 27
schools from Texas, New Mexico and
Oklahoma as well as two area school
districts agreed that combining the
TACUP/SWACUMS conferences was a
win-win situation. On the last day
of the conference, representatives
had a joint meeting to see how
everyone felt and agreed to once
again join their efforts for the
conference in 2011 hosted by Texas
Christian University. The joint
conference provided a larger
attendance for vendors and speakers
as well as more opportunities for
networking with peers within the
industry.
�If you come away with at least one
idea that you can implement in your
shop, you have come out a winner,�
Rowland-Ketley said.
For more information on UH Printing
and Postal, visit
https://www.uh.edu/postal/.
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