Bob Harju, owner of the Berryville, Va.-based Pumpernickel Press, was appointed as an at-large member to the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the Greeting Card Association (GCA) at its recently concluded 72nd Annual Convention in Savannah, Ga. Harju has served on the GCA’s Board for six years.
“I am really honored to be appointed to the executive committee of the GCA,” says Harju. “I love being a part of the greeting card industry and being able to touch the lives of so many. The Association has helped our business with its wealth of information and encouragement.”
Continues Harju: “It’s a great group of people working together to improve the industry. A good example: we are leading the way in suggesting ways to responsibly resolve the huge budget deficit of the Postal Service that will enable it to continue providing affordable, universal service six days a week. We have proposed more than 100 ways that can lead to the USPS’s solvency without it cutting essential services or raising rates – the latter which the GCA strongly opposes. I am excited about the future of this industry and the opportunity to work with this committee.”
Others elected to the GCA Executive Committee for 2013-14 include President Steve Doyal of Hallmark Cards; Vice President Carlos Llansó of Legacy Publishing Group, Inc.; Treasurer Christy Kaprosy of American Greetings Corporation; and Past President Susan January of Leanin’ Tree. At-large executive committee members in addition to Harju include Jason Evans of Birchcraft Studios; Alan Friedman of Great Arrow Graphics; Steve Gimbelman of Designer Greetings, Inc.; Andy Meehan of Christian Inspirations; and George White of Up With Paper.
Pumpernickel Press began with a leap of faith by Bob Harju in the basement of his Leesburg, Va., home in 1998. Starting with 20 designs of embossed boxed Christmas cards, the family-owned business has become one of the leading producers of quality embossed greeting cards, now offering more than 1,500 designs of boxed Christmas and everyday occasion cards. The company currently occupies a 15,000ft2 building west of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Berryville. And, when they say family business, they truly mean family: Bob’s wife, Skeeter, their two sons, Ryan and Robby, and Ryan’s wife, Allie, all work full time for the company.
