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<p>You may know George White as president and COO of <a href="https://upwithpaper.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Up With Paper</a> and <a href="https://www.uwpluxe.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UWP Luxe</a> — these are fantastic, award-winning houses of pop-up cards renowned for their complex engineering and beautiful rendered artwork. But the reason I invited George here ;is because he is also president of <a href="https://www.greetingcard.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Greeting Card Association</a>, and to say that organization has had a crazy year is a huge understatement. </p>



<p>The GCA was to hold the second edition of <a href="https://www.notedexpo.org/noted20/Public/Enter.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Noted: the greeting card expo</a> in San Francisco on May 1; the event was to encompass the<a href="https://www.greetingcard.org/louie-awards/"> </a><a href="https://www.greetingcard.org/louie-awards/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">LOUIE Awards</a>, which recognizes stellar design in greeting cards each year, as well as the <a href="https://notedexpo.secure-platform.com/a/page/winners" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Noted @ *Noted Product Awards,</a> which I actually sponsored under The Paper Chronicles banner. </p>



<p>As you can imagine, COVID-19 threw a wrench in all those plans … and I had a front-row seat to see how everything was reconfigured as it unfolded in real time. Now, getting anything done by committee can be super-difficult, and I was in awe of how George kept everyone on task and in agreement, and pulled off an amazing virtual event. Which is great, because that’s not going to be the only virtual event on the GCA’s plate in 2020.</p>



<p>First off,  ;<a href="https://www.bigmarker.com/greeting-card-association/Virtual-LOUIE-Award-Celebration?utm_bmcr_source=GCAWeb" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The LOUIE Virtual Awards</a>, sponsored by <a href="https://www.americasmart.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="https://www.americasmart.com/">the Atlanta Market</a>, are now to be held July 30. I&#8217;m sure <a href="https://greetingcard.secure-platform.com/a/gallery?roundId=27" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the 2020 finalists</a> who have been waiting since May can&#8217;t wait to hear the results! </p>



<p>Then, through <a href="https://www.bigmarker.com/greeting-card-association/Noted-A-Focus-on-Diversity?utm_bmcr_source=sarah" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="https://www.bigmarker.com/greeting-card-association/Noted-A-Focus-on-Diversity?utm_bmcr_source=sarah">Noted: A Focus on Diversity</a>, held Thursday, July 16, Black makers &#8220;pitched&#8221; their greeting card line to a panel of the top retailers, sales reps and or international distributors — plus a large group of retailers online. This event&#8217;s pitch panel will feature Vanessa Raptopoulos, <a href="https://www.awesomebrooklyn.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Awesome Brooklyn</a>; Chandra Greer, <a href="https://greerchicago.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Greer Chicago</a>; Kristina Burkey, <a href="https://calliopepaperie.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Calliope Paperie</a>; and Kyle Williams, <a href="https://www.papersource.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Paper Source</a>.</p>



<p>George also shares how we can all, regardless of role, help #savethepostoffice — ;and how the act is doing so is anything but a partisan act.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IMG_2878.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-10005434"/><figcaption><a href="https://www.kbpaperie.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="https://www.nextchapterstudio.com/collections/cards">Hitchcock Creative</a><br>Winner, Noted @ *Noted Awards<br>Snarkiest Card</figcaption></figure>



<p>Image up top: <a href="https://www.kbpaperie.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Next Chapter Studio</a><br>Winner, Noted @ *Noted Product Awards<br>Best New Product Line</p>



<p>Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. <a href="http://smilesongs.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">smilesongs.com</a></p>

George White, President, GCA
