Louisville, KY (July 17, 2002) -- The Merrick Printing Co., Inc. received 39 awards in the 2002 Printing Industries Association of the South (PIAS) Graphic Awards Competition, including the top honor, the Golden Ben for Best of Show! The awards were officially presented at the PIAS Annual Convention during a banquet held at Hilton Ocean Front Resort, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina on June 11, 2002.

The Golden Ben award was presented to Merrick for the Trim Masters Inc. product brochure. The Williams McBride Group designed the piece, which featured rich, crisp photography with flawless use of 4-color process, metallic blue and dry-trap spot gloss and matte varnishes. There were 1,063 entries from approximately 68 printing companies representing 7 states, Kentucky, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and West Virginia, plus southern Indiana. The Golden Ben is named after Benjamin Franklin, who is credited with founding the American printing industry.

"To win the Golden Ben is a high honor and is something in which we take great pride", said David Merrick, President, upon receipt of the award. "This award is directly attributable to the high level of skills of our employees, and because of their efforts in striving to produce the highest quality print product available."

Merrick also received the Silver Ben for Best of Division in this year’s competition, and was the only Kentucky printer to be recognized at that level. There are a total of six divisions and Merrick competed in the division for companies having more than seventy-five employees. In addition, Merrick was awarded 8 Best of Category honors and 30 Awards of Excellence.

The PIAS Graphic Awards Competition is judged by a panel of 3 experts using a point system. A printed piece must earn a certain number of points based on set criteria to receive an Award of Excellence. The entry receiving the highest composite score within each category will receive the Best of Category Award. After judging is completed for each category within a division, all of the Best of Category winners from that division are grouped together and judged again to determine which entry is to receive the Best of Division award, the Silver Ben. After judging is completed for all divisions, all of the Best of Division winners are grouped together and judged again to determine which entry is to receive the top honor - the Best of Show, the Golden Ben trophy.