History of the Hagemeyer Happy Hour at TAPPICon
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Have you heard about the Hagemeyer Happy Hour? It has become a key Sunday event within TAPPICon. It’s a chance for people from across Conference registration to get together for networking, tech talk, and acknowledging contributors to the Coating and Graphic Arts Division. It’s named for, and conducted to honor, one of the all-time great participants in Coating and Graphic Arts (C&GA) and all of TAPPI: Bob Hagemeyer. Bob had a “larger than life” influence on the organization, through his technical expertise, leadership, and passion to improve TAPPI. Bob loved to initiate discussions after presentations with his questions and to have a drink at the bar while continuing those discussions. What better way to honor his legacy than to have people get together for exactly this kind of fellowship?
The Fundamentals Committee of C&GA initiated the idea at their 8th Advanced Coating Fundamentals Symposium held May 8-10, 2003, in Chicago, IL. Tony Lyons, the visionary who conceived the event, wanted to have a networking event to encourage scientific discussion. In a brainstorming session within the Fundamentals Committee, they discussed the fact that there are scientific organizations referred to as societies.
Since 2010, session chairs Al Osgood and Steve Ottone broadened the focus of the event to also honor C&GA Division Award recipients. These two felt that it was important to these deserving members to not only receive their awards at the official Awards Breakfast but also to be honored in the presence of their peers. With the evolution of our Conference from TAPPI Coating Conference to PaperCon to TAPPICon, the Hagemeyer Happy Hour has become the de facto Sunday night reception for the entire event.
This combination of networking, fellowship, tech talk, and acknowledging some of the “best and brightest” has proven to be universally loved. So, please, in the coming years put this event on your personal calendar for the week. Come out, relax, see old friends, talk tech, have some food and drink, and cheer on our best and brightest. As organizers, we can’t imagine any better way to honor the memory of Bob Hagemeyer than to carry forward his legacy with this event.
