Rick Taylor Scores 10th Award Win
Watch the “Take 31: 2016 Cannata Dinner” short now!
This year, The Cannata Report awarded eight Frank awards live and announced four nominees per category beforehand and the night of the event for the first time in an effort to broaden recognition among deserving companies and executives. As always, since the inception of the Cannata Awards, all results were determined directly by the results of our Annual Dealer Survey.
The eight awards included a new category, “Best Leasing Company.” We introduced this long-overdue award in acknowledgment of this ever-important business segment that finances virtually every transaction across the industry.
We extend our congratulations and best wishes for continued success in the future to all eight winners, as noted in last month’s lead INK story.
With $180,000 raised and pledged, 2016 was a top fundraising year for The Cannata Report’s Annual Awards & Charities Dinner, surpassed only by last year’s 30th anniversary event with $186,415 pledged and raised. The Cannata Report achieved this year’s significant result with substantial support from New York Giant Super Bowl XLII champion and keynote speaker Antonio Pierce, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. (Konica Minolta), along with President and CEO Rick Taylor, U.S. Bank, Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC), and several other personal contributions.
Of the $180,000 total, $163,000 will benefit the Jackie Ritschel Memorial Endowment for Cancer Research and Treatment at HUMC. Jackie Ritschel is the late wife of New Jersey’s Electronic Office Systems President and Cannata Report Board Member Andrew Ritschel. The remaining $17,000 will directly benefit Adopt-a-Soldier Platoon’s (AaSP) Camp 4 Heroes initiative, which you can learn more about in a two-minute video short at theCannatareport.com/video.
Cost-of-entry fees and donations from notable industry dealers and other individuals given and pledged to date yielded $150,250 for the Cancer Research Endowment. U.S. Bank took the lead position in raising $9,000 for AaSP, while HUMC contributed $2,500 to the Cancer Research Endowment.
Prior to his keynote presentation, former New York Giant Antonio Pierce joked with the audience that he would sell his mobile phone, complete with his NFL contacts (including Tom Brady on speed dial), for no less than $20,000 for HUMC. Konica Minolta’s Rick Taylor immediately responded with a $20,000 donation on behalf of Konica Minolta, along with a $5,000 personal donation (and Taylor didn’t even ask for the phone).
This 2016 milestone event also attracted a record 265 attendees. The highly competitive manufacturing segment united in its representation this year. Every manufacturer of consequence was in attendance and all but one purchased one table at $5,000 each. (As in prior years, Konica Minolta purchased two for $10,000.)
Konica Minolta’s total donation tally of $35,000 to HUMC raised the bar and set a new standard for the entire industry. EFI, HP Inc., Kyocera Document Solutions America, Inc. (Kyocera), Lexmark International, Inc. (Lexmark), Muratec America, Inc., Ricoh USA, Inc., Samsung Electronics America, Inc., Sharp Imaging Information Company of America (SIICA), Toshiba America Business Solutions, Inc., and Xerox Corporation were all visibly present.
Canon U.S.A., in a commendable and much-appreciated effort led by Toyo Kuwamura, EVP of Canon U.S.A. and President and CEO of Canon Solutions America, made a triumphant return, purchasing a full table. HP Inc., led by Mimi Evenson, National Manager of Channel MPS, upped its attendance and commitment by also purchasing a full table, up from three seats last year.
On the production side, The Cannata Report Awards & Charities Dinner official sponsors Square 9 Softworks (Square 9), Clover Imaging Group (Clover), and Hytec Dealer Services (Hytec) were the evening’s top contributors through their coverage of promotional and event costs, with the exception of A/V and A/V support, blow-ups, badges, and table cards.
Sharp Imaging Information Company of America (SIICA), in an initiative led by Mike Marusic, SVP of SIICA’s Marketing, Operating and Technical Services, and supported by Doug Albregts, president and CEO of Sharp Electronics and president of SIICA, graciously donated thousands of dollars in A/V equipment and personnel value, was another top contributors. While SIICA has been providing A/V support for years, the manufacturer has gone from filming the event to enabling The Cannata Report to launch and execute an entirely new vision for the event’s awards and presentations. This effort included enhanced audio and video components and live streaming of all awards and presentations across six strategically placed 65″ Sharp LCD displays.
Kyocera auctioned a speed painting of Bruce Springsteen by artist Tim Decker at its 2016 dealer meeting, offering to match up to $2,500. The manufacturer ultimately sold Decker’s work to the highest bidder, Jim Orrichio, president of Coordinated Business Systems. Orrichio bid a whopping $6,000 and Kyocera generated a total of $8,500 for HUMC, in addition to Kyocera’s table purchase of $5,000 and Orrichio’s additional donation of $1,000.00.
With contributions from Square 9, Clover, Hytec Dealer Services, and Sharp, The Cannata Report was once again able to expand the breadth and scope of the affair while continuing to donate 100% of all proceeds to its designated charities.
Most importantly, more dealers attended than ever before. To them, and all others who attended, donated, contributed time, and enhanced the energy of our annual event, our team is thankful and looks forward to seeing as many of you as possible next year, along with more new faces.
Thank You…
…Square 9, Clover, and Hytec for their official event sponsorship;
…Sharp/SIICA for substantially increasing the scope and value of A/V equipment and personnel;
…Konica Minolta and Rick Taylor for contributing $35,000, inclusive of table fees, to HMUC;
…U.S. Bank for leading the charge in raising $17,000 for AaSP, in addition to purchasing a table;
…EverBank, for its Annual Dealer Survey sponsorship, and for ground transportation, in addition to purchasing a table;
…MWA for providing cigars for and co-hosting an after-party, in addition to purchasing a table;
…and LDI Color ToolBox for once again providing all blow-ups, badges, and table cards.
…Rick Bastinelli, Centric Business Systems; Leo Bonetti, Flo-Tech; Tom Flesch, Gordon Flesch Company; Bill Fraser, Frasier Advanced Imaging Systems; Bob Ingoglia; Todd Johnson, Strategic Business Associates; Roger King*; Carl Langsencamp, Xerox; Troy Olsen, Les Olsen Company; Jim Orrichio, Coordinated Business Systems, Ltd.; Andrew Ritschel*, Al Scibetta and David Scibetta, Copy Fax Business Technologies; Art Schwartz*; Charlie Tiernan, New England Copy Specialists; Tim Vellek*, and Larry Weiss, Atlantic, Tomorrow’s Office.
*Personal donations
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Watch “Take 31,” a five-minute dinner documentary short featuring commentary and footage from award winners, top executives, hosts and special guests, including New York Giants Super Bowl champion Antonio Pierce.
Read “Inaugural Women Influencers Brunch Draws Elite Executives” and view extensive, detailed photo slide show.
Questions about next year’s event? Contact cjcannata@cannatareport.com.
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