Jackson, MI—PMA selected five members to receive the 2013 PMA Distinguished Service Award for their invaluable contributions to the photo-imaging industry: Bob Friend; Rob Markoff, CPF; Brian Mundy; Margaret Remy; and Peter Rose. They will be honored during the 2013 PMA@CES at the LVH (formerly known as the Las Vegas Hilton) on January 8, 2013.
“PMA is all about promoting the growth of the imaging industry, and no one exemplifies what that means more than these five individuals,” said PMA’s executive director, Jim Esp. “It is truly a pleasure to recognize them for their hard work and endless dedication to PMA, its membership and to the industry as a whole.”
Bob Friend. With a career in photo-imaging that spans 40 years, Friend has spent the last 35 years at District Photo in Beltsville, Maryland, where he has been the executive vice president and general manager for 17 years. During his tenure, Friend has worked in all phases of the business, helping District become one of the biggest fulfillers of image-related products in the world, serving major retailers and e-commerce companies in all 50 states and the UK with its four manufacturing plants. He also has served PMA in numerous capacities as a territorial vice president, a trustee-at-large and as PMA treasurer from 2008–2009. In 1975, he was the PMA Territorial Vice President of the Year when he worked for Sundance Photo.
Rob Markoff, CPF. An active member of the picture framing community for 42 years, Markoff and his wife, Barbara, own and operate Gallery Services, a custom framing and installation company, and Artrageous!, a multi-store art and framing chain that specializes in corporate art consultation. Markoff has been involved with the Professional Picture Framers Association (PPFA) since its inception and served for many years as the vice president and program chairman of the San Diego chapter and is a member of the PPFA Advisory Committee. Markoff originated “trade-show tours,” taking framers attending the PPFA convention through the PMA show to demonstrate items of value to framers. In addition, he was awarded the PPFA President’s Special Recognition Award in 2005 and has written extensively for Décor magazine and is a regular contributor to Picture Framing and Profile magazines.
Brian Mundy. Now the director of Photography, Training and Technical Solutions for YB Squared, Mundy was previously vice president of Digital Imaging for Photomation, where he was employed from 1982–2012. He was responsible for managing the company’s design projects and digital development, generating approximately $5 million in annual sales. A past president of the Digital Imaging Marketing Association (DIMA), Mundy produces and hosts the weekly DIMAcast podcast, focusing on industry trends and idea exchanges through interviews with innovative professionals and industry leaders. He is also a frequent speaker at national industry conferences covering such topics as digital workflow, quality improvement processes and color management, to help industry professionals enhance their businesses.
Margaret Remy. In 1984 Remy started Quick Prints, then the first one-hour photo lab in Meridian, Mississippi, and joined PMA two years later. Since attending her first PMA event in 1986, she has never missed a PMA trade show. Remy was one of the first two women to serve on the Minilab Advisory Committee. She also served several years as president of the PMA Dixie division and was Territorial Vice President of the Year for the U.S. in 2004 and 2010. Remy has been a moderator for PMA and DIMA conference sessions, a Certified Photographic Consultant test administrator, and is affectionately known as the PMA “Official Hugger.” Among other honors, she was appointed as a delegate to the White House Conference on Small Business in 1983 and has since served as a delegate to every summit of the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB), being named by NFIB as Mississippi Small Business Champion in 2004, the first year the program was initiated nationwide.
Peter Rose. Director of Australian Activities for PMA, Rose began his career in the industry at Hanimex in 1961, when he also became active in PMA. He held several roles at Hanimex, eventually becoming Sales and Marketing manager for Hanimex Australia. In 1981, he was appointed the first managing director for J. Osawa Australia, a Japanese trading house for photographic equipment. In 1983, along with two employees, Rose founded Merit Imports, which eventually purchased Baltronics, a professional supply business that held the Sinar, Broncolor and Foba agencies. Merit sales grew with agencies that include Vivitar, Yashica, Fotima camera bags, Panasonic flash and cameras, Sea and Sea underwater cameras and Vivanco video-editing equipment. After 10 years, Rose sold his company to Haminex and became general manager of Camerahouse Australia. In 1997, Kodak asked him to head up the largest of their regions in Australia. Rose took on the director role for PMA Australia in 2005 and has spearheaded the growth of the PMA Australia Annual Exhibition and Convention with the introduction of the public to the event as well as the expansion into framing, drawing framers to the PPFA Conference and Expo. pmai.org
