Skip Novakovich inducted as a Board Member of Printing Industries of America

Pittsburg, PA — Printing Industries of America (PIA) proudly announces the election of its 2020 slate of officers and Board of Directors. Skip Novakovich took the oath of office and was inducted as a new Board member at the installation ceremony conducted at the PIA Fall Administrative meetings held in Houston, Texas

Established in 1887 Printing Industries of America (PIA) is the world’s largest nonprofit graphic arts trade association, representing more than 6,500 member companies and an industry with more than $174.4 billion in revenue and 1 million employees. PIA is dedicated to the advancement of the graphic communications industry worldwide by serving member companies through advocacy, education, research, technical information, and cost-saving resource that enhance member growth, efficiency, and profitability.

Mark Hayward of Pacific Printing Industries when honoring Novakovich commented “Skip you are a beloved member of the printing community. Your smile and encouragement greet everyone. Thank you for making a difference in the lives of many in and out of our industry.”

Novakovich was introduced to the printing industry at the age of seven when his parents taught him how to hand feed a small letterpress at the age of 7 in a North Dakota weekly newspaper plant. In 1989 Novakovich and his wife, Shannon, founded Esprit Graphic Communications, Inc. and moved into the former commercial printing facility of the Tri-City Herald in Kennewick, Washington. This facility had been closed since 1986 and contained only very well-worn equipment.

The company name was chosen from the military term “esprit de corps” meaning a shared spirit of comradeship, enthusiasm, and devotion to a common cause among the members of a group. From this meager beginning thirty years ago Esprit became a well-respected, community-minded, international award-winning printing company.

During the thirty years they owned Esprit the Novakovich couple were committed to making their community a better place through volunteering their personal and business resources. Esprit was recognized many times for the many contributions made by the company.

Individually both skip and Shannon were named Downtowners of the year in 1994. Skip was named Kennewick Man of the year in 1999 and in 2010 Shannon was named Kennewick woman of the year. In 2011 Skip received the Tri-Cities Highest honor being named Tri-Citian of the year. Skip is a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel who is also a publicly elected official serving the past ten years as a Port of Kennewick Commissioner. Skip and Shannon live on over two acres full of wildlife in rural Benton County with their goofy dog named Mr. Wesley.