Award Winner in 2001

Last year, the recipient of GATF's environmental award was Marcia Y. Kinter, vice president of government affairs for the Screenprinting and Graphic Imaging Association International (SGIA), a trade group located in Fairfax, Va. GATF officials noted that although Kinter is primarily an advocate for the screen printing and graphic imaging industry, her work has benefited the entire graphic arts industry.

In a letter recommending her for the honor, Jim O'Leary, program analyst for EPA, wrote, "Balancing the competing interest of printers and the environment objectively and articulating her concerns so clearly is a unique skill that results in her comments and opinions being listened to seriously both inside and outside of government. It's a rare gift that more of us should have, because it results in both environmental and economic progress."

When Kinter joined SGIA in 1989, the association did not have a defined program emphasizing government activities. But soon after her arrival, SGIA elected to participate in two EPA voluntary partnership programs: Design for the Environment (DfE) and the Common Sense Initiative. Kinter's commitment to these volunteer programs for nearly a decade, say colleagues, has resulted in numerous benefits for the entire industry.

Under SGIA's leadership and DfE program support, Kinter and her staff designed the SGIA DfE-Environmental Management System product to help screen printers develop sophisticated, pollution prevention-based environmental management systems.