Harper Corporation of America a Purple Sponsor of the Phoenix Challenge Competition
Published: 04.23.2017
Charlotte, North Carolina, April 24, 2017—Global anilox roll supplier Harper Corporation of America is a strong supporter of education, sponsoring and participating in numerous initiatives to raise funds for educational programs, scholarships, and other causes. The company is proud to have served as a purple sponsor for the 20thAnnual Phoenix Challenge High School Skills Competition held March 22-24 at the Harper National Flexographic Campus of Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, NC. Harper has been an active supporter every year since the competition’s inception.
In addition to being a purple sponsor, Harper Corporation of America also donated a total of $40,000 in honor of Ron and Katherine Harper, the company’s founders. “To celebrate the amazing accomplishment of the 20thyear of the high school Phoenix Challenge, Harper donated $20,000 in Ron Harper’s honor,” says Lee Kluttz, Harper president. “As we all know, there was never one without the other, so Harper also donated $20,000 in Katherine Harper’s honor. We are extremely committed to keeping their legacy in education very much alive and will continue to do so.”
The Phoenix Challenge Foundation (PCF) encourages flexographic education to expose students to the flexographic industry as potential careers and gives leaders in the field the opportunity to support their advancement. The high school competition is a hands-on program that lasts three days and tests students’ abilities in prepress, on-press, and general knowledge of flexographic printing theory and graphic arts.
More than 20 teams from across the United States and Canada participated. Their skills were judged by a panel of industry professionals and educators including Lee Kluttz, Harper President; Mark Jacques, Vice President of Manufacturing; and Tony Donato, Product Development Engineer at Harper and Board Member for the Phoenix Challenge Foundation.
In further support of the competition, Harper also remanufactured eight anilox rolls for CPCC’s Harper Flexographic campus for their Comco Cadet press, and two rolls for their Mark Andy Scout press. These donated services were valued at $7,072 and $2,197 respectively.
The 20thannual competition was a success and sets the stage for continuing efforts to build the flexographic workforce of tomorrow. Bettylyn Krafft, Chairman of the Phoenix Challenge Foundation, accepted Harper’s donation and notes, “I am deeply moved and more than elated by the generous donation from Lee Kluttz on behalf of Ron and Katherine Harper. Their passion and commitment to educational causes has been one of the most important drivers for me and continuing the efforts for the Phoenix Challenge programs.”
The PCF also hosts a College Challenge which is in its 10thyear and will be held on April 29 in conjunction with the FFTA Annual Forum and INFO*FLEX event to be held in Phoenix, Arizona. Harper Corporation of America will be an exhibitor at the FTA INFO*FLEX in booth #600.
For more information, please contact Jazmin Siancas at 704-588-3371, ext. 4292, or jsiancas@harperimage.com.
