Blanc Inducted into Business Hall of Fame
Gene M. Blanc, CEO and chairman of Midland Information Resources, was inducted into the Quad Cities Area Business Hall of Fame at a ceremony held October 20, 1999. Blanc was one of six Quad City area businesspeople honored and now joins 25 other business leaders previously inducted. Begun in 1990, the Hall of Fame is a project of Junior Achievement of the Quad Cities Area, Inc.
A native of Pennsylvania, Blanc developed his interest in the print industry as a boy working in his father’s printshop. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Printing Management from West Virginia Institute of Technology in Montgomery.
Blanc came to the Quad Cities in 1974 to work for the former Desaulniers Printing Company (Moline, IL). In 1982, he and a partner ventured off to form Midland Press Corporation and then Gene became the sole proprietor in 1988.
Midland Information Resources was created in 1995 as a holding company to reflect the transformation from a “traditional printing” company to a full-service provider of information management solutions. Transcend Software was founded in 1998 to focus on providing a more technological level of support to the company’s customers.
Blanc has a very strong commitment to his community and profession. He is actively involved in the local boards of United Way, Junior Achievement and Trinity Hospitals, among others, and serves on both the Printing Industries of America and Printing Industries of the Midlands boards. In 1998, the latter organization presented him with their most prestigious award, “Distinguished Printer of the Year.”