Vicks leads by quiet example
Sept. 15, 2002

Photo by ELIZABETH A. MUNDSCHENK Dwight Vicks

By MARRECCA FIORE
Observer-Dispatch

Dwight E. Vicks III travels a lot on business and volunteers with community organizations, but the most important commitment in his life is his family, he said.

“The main priority is my family,” he said. “My business comes after that. I do want to devote some of my time to give back to the area, but I have three young kids. What that means is that I can’t always commit to every organization.”

In addition to being president of Vicks Lithograph & Printing Corp. in Yorkville — a soft book cover manufacturer started by his family in 1918 — Vicks also coaches soccer and sits on the Faxton-St. Luke’s Healthcare board of directors. A trumpet player, he also has participated in the region’s Great Artists Series and the Utica Boilermaker Road Race and is an active member of the Printing Industries of America and New York State Printing Industries of America.

Although he considers himself and his business to be rather subdued, the 39-year-old Clinton resident was excited to learn he had been chosen an Accent on Excellence winner.

“I was happy,” he said. “It’s nice. We tend to be low-key around here, but it’s nice to be recognized.”

His nominator, Peter M. Rayhill, said Vicks leads by quiet example.

“Dwight’s return to this area 12 years ago was a stroke of good fortune and a harbinger of good things to come,” Rayhill wrote. “He saw what is good about this area as a businessperson, as a husband and father and as an individual with interests in athletics, history and music.”

Vicks grew up in Utica and later earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Cornell University. After college, he moved to New York City where he worked for the Bank of New York. But ultimately, Vicks came to the conclusion there really is no place like home.

“My wife and I decided this would be a great place to raise a family, and the opportunity of coming back and working at Vicks Lithograph was very exciting for me,” he said.

Since returning to Vicks Lithograph in 1991, he has helped to diversify the company’s product lines, increase sales, and up the full-time employment from 90 to 154 people.

“We’ve always been an employer of good-paying jobs,” Vicks added. “I think we have a great work force here and a great work ethic. I travel a lot on business. I’ve seen a lot of places and I’m glad we live here.”