New York, NY – June 21, 2010 – Officials of the North-American Association of Uniform Manufacturers & Distributors announced today that for the next stage of evolution of the NAUMD Innovation Committee they had named Brian Fee, Vice President of Sales with Noble Biomaterials, Committee  Chairman and Mary O’Rourke, President, O’Rourke Group Partners, LLC as Vice Chairman- Sourcing.

According to NAUMD 2010-11 Chairman Steve Zalkin, President of Alamar Uniforms, Co., the NAUMD Innovation Committee will be taking on an even greater role in providing services and programs for the benefit of all members. “I truly believe that the Innovation Committee and its focus will become driver of the future of NAUMD. Innovation breeds progress, advances society and leads to efficiencies. Ultimately – Innovation leads to stimulation to our business and aids us in reaching the profits we seek. Technologies that have given us new fabric enhancements, new ways to provide originality, performance and design advancements have made employees across the world safer and more comfortable in performing their job tasks. It is the ultimate goal of NAUMD to help our membership take full advantage of all these innovations so that they may better service their customers!” Shared Zalkin, included a recent interview appearing in the NAUMD Official Guide.

NAUMD is poised to re-invent itself once again in order to meet the exacting demands and needs of the entire uniform & Imagewear industry. “We have just begun the process of re-creating all we offer so that members get the education, services and programs they need to better compete in the new economy which directly impacts our industry.” Says NAUMD President Richard Lerman, “The addition of Brian and Mary will help us take the Innovation Committee to its next logical steps in providing members with intelligence they can implement in their business to better service their customers both in the private and public sectors.” He went on, “with the reporting and presentations of the Innovation Committee – as well as their contributions to other committees such as the NAUMD Public Safety Committee & the NAUMD Image Apparel Institute Committee – members serving all aspects of the uniform and Imagewear industry will always have the information they need to better compete and serve their customers!”

About the NAUMD Innovation Committee Mission:
The NAUMD Innovation committee, established in 2009,  identifies, tracks and disseminates information to the Association’s membership on the latest technologies, processes and systems for uniform imagewear products and services which enhance the item's functionality, durability, safety or other ways.  The Committee works closely with the NAUMD professional staff, and other standing committees,  in the development of educational programs for all membership categories to educate members on the latest technologies, fabric enhancing chemicals, systems or processes which may enhance the item's functionality, durability, safety or in some way advance the benefits of the uniform program for the end-user and wearer.
Goals of the NAUMD Innovation Committee 2010-11

To further develop programs to educate, inform and build new networking avenues for NAUMD Members who have even greater challenges in keeping abreast of the new innovations and provide ways to best incorporate these innovations in their products and assist in the advancement of electronic and other new promotional approaches in communicating value to  their customers.

About new Innovation Committee Chairman - Brian Fee

Brian Fee, Vice President of Sales - Brian joined Noble Biomaterials in November 2008 and is currently responsible for managing the company’s business product development, strategic and market planning for the Career Apparel and Industrial/Occupational sectors.  Brian was promoted to the position of Vice President of Sales for the Occupational & Industrial markets in June of 2010 after previously serving as Director of Business Development for the Industrial division. He also serves on NAUMD’s Strategic Planning Committee, he is a founding member of the NAUMD Emerging Leadership Group Governing Committee and also serves on the Association’s Membership Committee.

Prior to joining Noble Biomaterials, Brian served as National Account Manager with Allied Services, America's second largest environmental services organization. Prior to Allied, he served 12 years at Aramark Uniform Services—as Regional Sales Manager and Account Manager in the Great Lakes Region. During his tenure Brian helped drive results sales revenues for a $30M market. Brian also served as General Manager for Shred-it at their Grand Rapids, MI facility.  While at Shred-it, Brian was responsible for all aspects of sales growth and profit attainment for the Grand Rapids branch.  During Brian’s tenure, the Grand Rapids, MI branch received the “Branch of the Year” award in 2003 and grew the branch revenue by over 102%.

About new Innovation Committee Vice Chairman – Sourcing -  Mary T. O’Rourke

Mary O'Rourke is founder and president of O’Rourke Group Partners LLC, an international management consulting practice serving textile, apparel, home furnishings and retail industries and related supply chains. O’Rourke Group Partners LLC’s offices are located in New York, Charlotte and Hong Kong.

Ms. O’Rourke has thirty years of professional consulting experience and has successfully led more than 400 strategic engagements in 48 countries.Areas of specialization encompass corporate strategy, profit improvement, international marketing, process re-engineering, production sourcing, offshore manufacturing feasibility analysis, and the creation of supply chain alliances. The firm is particularly adept in identifying and pre-screening foreign partners for marketing or manufacturing alliances, in Asia and in Latin America.

ABOUT the NAUMD
The North-American Association of Uniform Manufacturers & Distributors (NAUMD) has served as the voice of the Uniform & Imagewear Industry since 1932, and is a trade association representing the interests and needs of its 500+ members, who manufacture, design, produce, and or sell imagewear, uniforms and uniform accessories or who provide products and or services to the uniform & imagewear industry.

NAUMD represents the interests of the industry to the public, appropriate federal, state, and local governmental agencies, in the United States, Canada and Mexico and to the consumer and trade news media worldwide. The Association provides services to member firms collectively for the betterment of all member companies and the industry at large. NAUMD also provides the means for the education and interchange of ideas between our members and facilitates communications through several publications and services. For further information on all NAUMD programs, services and issues please visit the Association’s website at www.naumd.com.