James Cryer handed over the honour board of past presidents to Mark Easton, current president, at the LATMA 2015 Label Presentation Dinner & AGM in Sydney.
He maintains the current president is “delighted” to acquire the honour roll and the association intends to refurbish it with the names of presidents since 2008, when it was last updated. The likely intention at this stage is for the board to be displayed in the business foyer of the current president, which in this case is Impresstik.
Cryer said he was very pleased to be able to restore the roll to LATMA, of which he is a long-term 30-year member, being the son of Wal Cryer who was elected to the LATMA Hall of Fame. “The current president was very appreciative and kept the board on display throughout the entire awards ceremony,” he said.
The solid timber board is one of a number Cryer was asked to safeguard on behalf of Printing Industries. In addition to LATMA, he also has the main honour board of National Presidents of PATEFA (Printing and Allied Trades Employers Federation of Australia, the previous name of the Association) going back to the 1920s, as well as the honour board of New South Wales presidents dating back to the 19th century when it was first formed as The Master Printers Association.
These heritage items are currently on display at Cryer’s JDA offices, only a stones throw from the new downsized Printing Industries offices in Chatswood.
“I don’t know what the Association intends for them in the long run, they have not been in touch. But I can assure members they are in safe hands,” said Cryer.
If the Association does reclaim its property for display in its new offices, ironically Cryer will not be able to see them having been ‘barred’ from the new HQ without an official invitation. This follows threats of police action after he was accused of ‘purloining’ items during the move.