NiPDi Announces 2008 Officers & Trustees
Elections were held recently at the Northern Illinois Painting & Drywall Institute (NiPDi) for 2008 officers. They are Joe Maring, Chairman; Rick Vandegraft, Vice Chairman and Trent Schleifer, Secretary-Treasurer.

Maring is owner/operator of Karl Schoening & Sons, Inc. in Rockford. He has been with Schoening since 1960 and assumed full ownership in 1983. Maring has been an active member of NiPDi since 1999. He has held various positions in the Rockford Chapter of the Painting and Decorating Contractors of America (PDCA). A past director of the Northeast Illinois Chapter of PDCA, Maring has been a member of the Finishing Contractors Association of Illinois (FCAI) since its inception. He currently is also a member of Rockford-area chapter of the Northern Illinois Building Contractor’s Association (NIBCA). A native of Stuttgart, Germany, Maring also served with the U.S. Army Topographic Corps from 1967 to 1969 both abroad and in the U.S.

Vandegraft is president of RW Vandegraft Painting & Decorating, Inc. in Normal, a firm he founded in 1998. He currently serves as contractor chairman of the board of the Joint Apprenticeship & Training Fund (JATF) Training Center — Painters District Council No. 30’s school for apprentices and journeyman in the finishing trades — located in Aurora. Vandegraft is immediate past president of the Central Illinois Chapter of PDCA, and holds a position on the NiPDi Advisory Board for the Peoria-Bloomington region. He is a second generation painting contractor who is involved in local charitable causes in the Normal area.

Schleifer, president of Fox Valley Dry Wall, Inc. in Aurora since 1998, has been active with NiPDi since 2006 and with FCAI since 2004. He is a past president of the Gypsum Drywall Contractors of Northern Illinois (GDCNI), serving in both 2003 and 2004. Schleifer studied agriculture at Kishwaukee College in Malta.

Other members of NiPDi’s 2008 Board of Trustees are: Michael LeGood, Painters’ Collaborative, Inc., Rosemont; Bill Nielsen, Pecover Decorating Services, Inc., Aurora; Tony Pintozzi, International Decorators, Inc., Barrington; and Don Steadman, All-Tech Decorating Co., Romeoville.

Kristina Lowery Comes Aboard in October 2007
Kristina joined the staff in October as Administrative Assistant. Since 2003, Kristina has been an order facilitator and procurement specialist for B. Gunther & Company in Lisle. She has extensive experience working closely with programmers in database development and implementation.

Corey Jenkins Joins Staff in September 2007
Corey came aboard in September as our new Membership Coordinator. She kicked off her career in residential real estate after graduating from Joliet Junior College with an AAS in Business Administration. For two and a half years, Corey worked with @properties Sales & Marketing in Chicago on new construction/condo projects, and then moved on to join Re/Max in early 2007 as their closing coordinator.

Cindy Altman was Added to the Staff in October 2006
Cindy was hired as the organization's first marketing and communications manager. She brings a strong background in project and publications management. Prior to coming to NiPDi/FCAI, Cindy worked in publications and marketing in the education department of a state bankers association. In 25 years at that association, she served as magazine editor, conference sponsorship salesperson, and designer/production manager for 60 seminar brochures. Cindy also served as supervising editor for that associations' History of Banking in Illinois, a hardcover coffeetable book.

Chris Studebaker Becomes NiPDi/FCAI Executive Director in May 2006
Chris Studebaker succeeded Skip Hankes who retired on April 28, 2006. "Chris Studebaker understands the challenges facing our industry and will use his considerable talents to help NiPDi reach our goals. My fellow Board Members and I agree that he has the perfect combination of experience and knowledge to lead NiPDi, and we look forward to working with him," said then NiPDi Board Chairman Tony Pintozzi regarding Chris' appointment. Chris comes to NiPDi from the Realtor® Association of Southwestern Illinois where he served as Association Executive Officer. During his tenure with that association, he implemented changes that increased membership by 25 percent and significantly improved revenues by nearly 30 percent. He also oversaw the development of a new organizational brand which included renaming the association, implementing the use new corporate logos and helping to develop the organization's website.