And the 2012 TLMI Converter of the Year is...

Upon leaving the Air Force, Pillsbury worked for a time for Merrill Lynch in Bellevue, Wash. Here, he learned about sales and further developed his knowledge about training and time management—skills that would help him later in the label business.

In 1994, he joined the family business, along with his sister, Whitney. It was probably fortunate that he grew up around the printing business because any consideration for a long transition from first to second generation ownership was cut short in 1998 with the sudden passing of his father. Pillsbury and his sister were thrust into the unenviable position of taking over the reins of the company under difficult circumstances.