Five prominent photo industry members received the PMA Distinguished Service Award today during the PMA 2002 Annual International Convention and Trade Show in Orlando, Fla., USA. The award is given each year to individuals whose exemplary, lifelong careers and dedication to the photo imaging industry have contributed to the betterment of the industry as a whole. This year's recipients are Paul L. Boles, William J. DiMinno, Gerald A. Dingley, John L. Jackson and William A. Stelcher.
Gerald A. Dingley Chairman, British Photographic and Imaging Association Dingley became general manager of Rank Photographic in 1975; at that time, Rank was the leading distributor in the United Kingdom. Four years later, he was asked to launch Pentax as a wholly owned subsidiary of Asahi Optical and, together with a team of personnel from Rank, built one of the most successful Japanese companies in Europe. In addition to being managing director of Pentax UK, he also launched the French company Pentax France SA, becoming its first president director general. This achievement was followed by his appointment to chairman of the Pentax Europe Management Committee. He retired from Pentax in 1997, and that year was appointed chairman of the British Photographic and Imaging Association, the leading trade association for importing companies in the United Kingdom. He still holds that position today, and also finds time to chair a health-care charity for the developing world and serve as a non-executive director of a national health service trust. - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .