Ambassador: short for ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary ; a diplomatic minister of the highest rank, accredited as permanent representative to another country or sovereign (dictionary.com).
IPMA Ambassador: an extraordinary person dedicated to helping in-plant managers get the most out of their IPMA membership and help grow our membership.
Ben Fowler is the Manager of Document Services at Shelter Insurance. His team provides in-house print and graphic design for the company. Ben’s also the Member Representative on the IPMA Board of Directors.
For Ben, IPMA has been an excellent opportunity to learn more about running an in-plant. By connecting with other professionals across the country, he has learned more about how to improve his operation. IPMA members are always willing to share information and help each other.
Last October, Ben and the Board launched the IPMA Ambassador program that was introduced at the 2025 Conference. The ambassador concept originated from the board’s efforts to improve member engagement and retention. They explored ways to benefit current members, attract new members, and increase member engagement – along with more conference attendance. The focus is getting members more active and engaged with the organization’s offerings in an attempt for more members to realize the full value of being part of IPMA. The new program will also revive the previous conference host-mentor initiative that seemed successful in in the past.
The ambassadors have also been asked to reach out to peers locally to increase engagement and awareness of the organization. In Ben’s words, the goal is “to get people talking to each other.” People often don’t realize all the benefits of IPMA membership. So far, once they have a conversation with an ambassador, their activity and involvement appears to increase measurably.
The current IPMA Ambassadors are:
- Edward Bricker, Output and PrePress Specialist, Cherry Creek School District
- Magalie Chapman, Print Services Production Supervisor, Cedarville University
- Larry Clements, Retired, Redlands Community College
- Erica Dee, Publications Coordinator, Lockheed Martin – Missiles and Fire Control
- Kelli Embry, Supervisor of Document Services – Print & Graphics, Shelter Insurance
- Krista Moritz, Print Services Manager, University of Florida
- Arthur Pare’, Associate Managing Director – General Services, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
- Lisa Pitts, Graphic Services Manager, Communications and Marketing Department, City of Greensboro
- Jud Posner, Pressroom Manager, Church of Scientology, International
- Meghan Watts, Manager of University Print Services, West Texas A&M University
- Kristina Server, Associate Director, The University of Oklahoma Printing and Mailing Services
- Don Slaughter, Director of Administrative Services, Keeneland Association, Inc.
- Wes Troup, Business Solutions Analyst, The World Bank Group
Some ambassadors are reaching out individually to members who had canceled their memberships or let them lapse. These positive conversations will hopefully result in renewed memberships and new members. Recently, the ambassadors were tasked with making connections on LinkedIn in particular, or other social media, while also researching other groups to potentially reach new contacts in the printing and mailing community.
The program has created strategies to help the experience of new conference attendees and also increase member award submissions. Earlier this year, ambassadors contacted IPMA members who hadn’t submitted award entries in the past five years to educate and encourage. One successful outreach included an ambassador helping guide a member through the entire award submission process.
Ambassadors will wear ribbons at the IPMA 2026 Educational Conference and volunteer for tasks like selling tickets and organizing awards. In addition to taking part in the new attendee session on Sunday, they will also be leading regional round table discussions.
Be sure to say “hi” to your IPMA Ambassador in Greenville SC!