Facilisgroup (PPAI 493664)—Wendy Wells, promoted to vice president of supplier relations
SAGE (PPAI 10001)—Andy Evans, promoted to corporate account manager
AIA Corporation (PPAI 101364, D12)—Clay Hall, promoted to vice president of owner success
American Solutions for Business (PPAI 101656, D12)—Sarah Louden, promoted to vice president of human resources
iPROMOTEu (PPAI 218870, D12)—Julie Ditchik, Western U.S. business manager; Carrie Gorges, Northeast business manager; Heather Hoffman, Midwest business manager; Nancy Jolly, Southwest business manager; and Scott Thackston, Southeast business manager
The Superior Group of Companies, parent company of BAMKO (PPAI 242148, D11), Lapgevity, Inc. (PPAI 260498, D4), Tangerine Promotions, Ltd. (PPAI 439779, D1) and Public Identity, Inc. (PPAI 230372, D1)—James Shimizu, promoted to chief marketing officer
Specialty Advertising Association of California (SAAC)—Ray Jimenez, elected to the board of directors
ATTRACTION, Inc. (PPAI 474094, S1)—Lianne Macrae, national sales manager for the promotional market
BAG MAKERS, Inc. (PPAI 111408, S11)—Aubrie Madai, inside sales representative
BIC Graphic NA (PPAI 114187, S13)—Lori Bauer, promoted to senior vice president of sales, and Dave Saracino, promoted to senior vice president of business development
Black Forest Ltd. (PPAI 111489, S6)—Michael Jordal, sales
Cap America (PPAI 111597, S10)—Cory Cissell, promoted to director of sales, and Jon Page, promoted to director of knit operations
Goldstar (PPAI 114031, S7)—Erica Mikulsky, key accounts marketing manager, and Justin Pavel, marketing automation manager
GroupeSTAHL (PPAI 189660, S3)—Josh Ellsworth, promoted to senior vice president, dealer and enterprise sales
HUB Promotional Group, parent company of HUB Pen (PPAI 110772, S11), Beacon (PPAI 113702, S10), BEST Promotions USA (PPAI 461689, S4), Cooler Graphics (PPAI 226076, S4), Debco (PPAI 317015, S4), BCG Creations (PPAI 207888, S6), Origaudio (PPAI 421483, S7) and HandStands (PPAI 111285, S7)—Alissa Baker, director of key accounts for HUB Pen, Beacon and Origaudio; Melissa Bettua, promoted to director of sales for HUB Pen Company; Alex Morin, promoted to vice president of sales of Origaudio, Handstands and Debco; and Rodd Steuart, promoted to chief operating officer of HPG
iClick (PPAI 254537, S11)—Virginia Thomson, director of ecommerce and programs
IDProductsource (PPAI 384049, S6)—Katelyn Aumock, promoted to vice president of operations
IMAGEN Brands, parent company of suppliers Crown Products (PPAI 113430, S10) and Vitronic (PPAI 114197, S10)—Nick Lateur, national sales manager, West
Pro Towels (PPAI 112755, S10)—Jeanna Abercrombie, key account director, and Ellen Walborn, promoted to key account director
Raining Rose (PPAI 232508, S7)—Ian Flynn, promoted to vice president of technical services; Kyle Hach, promoted to chief operating officer; and Mike Wehr, promoted to chief sales officer
Storm Creek (PPAI 438091, S6)—Beth Harris, customer and product coordinator; Colette Munn, accounting specialist; Jeremy Piatt, marketing graphic designer; and Rachel Sprenger, order entry specialist
Toddy Gear (PPAI 516677, S6)—Josh Bleicher, promoted to director of sales
Thermopatch DBA DECO-PRINT (PPAI 272075, S1)—Mitch Eaton, controller
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Bob Davis, CAS, owner of Denver, Colorado, distributor Specialty Incentives (PPAI 104275, D8), passed away on December 24 after a short illness. He was 76.
Throughout his life, Davis was passionate about volunteering for the promotional products industry. He served on the PPAI Education Committee, Conventions Committee, Strategic Planning Committee and Leadership Advisory Committee, and was an industry speaker and ambassador at colleges and at industry shows. In 1997, he was elected to the PPAI Board of Directors and served from 1998-2002 and was board chair in 2001. Davis was inducted into the PPAI Hall of Fame in 2012 and was recognized as a PPAI Fellow in 2016.
In addition, Davis served on the board of the Rocky Mountain Region Promotional Products Association (RMRPPA) from 1985-1988, including a year as president. He also chaired the RMRPPA Supplier Forum, developed and implemented the regional association’s first Fall Show and co-chaired it for two years, and chaired the RMRPPA/PPEF Golf Tournament for three years.
Davis earned a BBA degree in economics from Ohio University in 1966 and went on to earn his MBA in 1970. Despite receiving multiple job offers in Ohio, Davis and his wife, Barbara, decided they wanted to live in Denver. In 1972, shortly after moving to the city, Davis bought his first company—a commercial silk-screen printing business.
He later closed that company and entered the promotional products industry. From 1978 to 1981, he worked in sales at distributor Western Advertising Products and, in 1981, he founded Specialty Incentives with his business partner, Don Lujan. Over the years, the company thrived and in 2010 it acquired two distributor companies, L.W. Barrett and DeWitt, with additional acquisitions of Somethin’ Sweet Custom Promotions (Glenwood Springs, Colorado) in 2013, and Bottom Line Marketing (Rock Springs, Wyoming) in 2019.
In 2009, Davis and Lujan retired from daily involvement with the company; however, Davis remained the majority owner. Since 2014, his son, Drew Davis, MAS, who joined the company in 2000, has been responsible for day-to-day operations.
Davis was serving on PPAI’s board of directors when the board made the decision to relocate The PPAI Expo from its longtime home in Dallas to the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. The first show there took place in January 2003. But the accomplishment Davis later said he was most proud of during his time on the PPAI board was his work with the Regional Association Council (RAC). In a January 2012 PPB article, Davis said, “I was the first PPAI board member to serve as the liaison to RAC. We put together the structure and brought it together for that first year. It’s very satisfying to see that RAC didn’t just survive, it’s thriving. It’s making the contribution to the industry that we envisioned.”
Davis’ passion for volunteering and encouraging educational achievement carried through to his community. He mentored at-risk youth in the Denver Public School system and was a teacher’s assistant. In recent years, he was instrumental in establishing a playground for underserved children at an elementary school in Denver.
Fellow PPAI volunteer leader Wayne Greenberg, MAS, president of Swag Krewe, a division of Geiger, remembers Davis as a friend and mentor to everyone he met. “Soft-spoken, big-hearted and sincere, if you had the privilege to get to know Bob, your life and career was made better,” he says. “Those of us who had the pleasure of serving with him on the PPAI board watched his decision-making and census-building skills in action. He made us all excel for the benefit of our Association and our industry.”
Longtime friend Paul Lage, MAS, president of Vitronic/IMAGEN Brands, who was inducted into the PPAI Hall of Fame the same year as Davis, says, “Bob was that gentle and respectful leader that we will all miss,” he says. “He always made everyone feel special and loved. You just felt better after being with Bob. His laugh was infectious, his smile was endless, and his golf game was boring and right down the middle. He lived for his family and the rest of us just enjoyed the journey with him.”
Another longtime industry friend and colleague, Gene Geiger, MAS+, chairman of Geiger, says, “Bob’s accomplishments as a business owner and industry leader are well-documented and impressive. What I embrace was his grace, kindness and caring humanity. There was a sense of peace about how he lived his life and how he approached the end he knew was coming. Beyond the sadness is the joy of appreciating a life very well lived, loved and left, an example I will carry to my end.”
Davis is survived by his wife of 51 years, Barbara; a son, Drew; daughter-in-law, Yvonne; two grandsons, Jaxon and Cole; and two sisters, Jacky Hendricks and Harriet Davis.
In 2012, the PPAI Board of Directors voted to create a Hall of Fame Recognition Program utilizing the Promotional Products Education Foundation’s Named Scholarships to honor HOF members for their lifetime contributions to the Association and industry. The PPAI Board will match industry donations up to $2,500 to fulfill the $5,000 commitment needed to create a Named Scholarship through the PPEF. To make a gift to establish a scholarship in Bob Davis’s name, send a check payable to PPEF mentioning Davis Memorial in the memo line and mail it to PPEF, 3125 Skyway Circle North, Irving, TX 75038. Gifts can also be made online at www.ppef.us. Click on Donate and enter Bob Davis Memorial in the Comments Section.
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Craig Olmstead, a member of the Ennis, Inc. national sales team representing the Rocky Mountain region, passed away on December 18. He was 68 years old. Ennis, Inc. is the parent company of several industry suppliers, including Folder Express (PPAI 354129, S1), Independent Folders (PPAI 111993, S2) and Admore, Inc. (PPAI 111144, S10).
Olmstead, born in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, moved to Colorado in 1975. He worked as a pressman at Woehrmeyer Business Forms and later at Denver Forms, where he eventually rose to vice president of manufacturing. He joined Adams McClure and Ennis in 1998, where he served as regional sales manager.
“During his more than 40 years in the printing industry Craig held many jobs, but for the last nine years his hard work, determination, and, most importantly, his love of working for his customers allowed Ennis of Colorado to become the company it is today. I know Craig loved his job and with the outpouring of calls and visits before his death, I hope he got to feel how much he meant to those he impacted,” says Mike Allen, general manager of Ennis of Colorado.
Outside of the office, Olmstead enjoyed skiing, golf, the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers.
Olmstead is survived by his wife Cindy, grandchildren Jonah, Justice, Julia, Josiah and Grace; brother Ronnie White and his wife Faye, sister Robin Wilholt and her husband Gordon; and mother Susan Lewter, along with many other relatives and friends.
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Joseph Segel, founder of ASI as well as the Franklin Mint and the QVC television shopping network, passed away on December 21 in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania. He was 88. Segel was also one of the inaugural inductees into the PPAI Hall Of Fame in 1977.
Always an entrepreneur, Segel sold business cards at 13 and enrolled in the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania when he was 16. He was a 20-year-old teaching Marketing 101 at Wharton when he started ASI. Working his way through college, he encountered the same issues challenging other industry newcomers—what products are available? Since manufacturers were disguised by line names, how does one find out who makes these products? By subscribing to ASI services, such as the Advertising Specialty Register and the Consolidated Catalog, distributors could identify products and sources. Segel is also credited with the launch of The Counselor trade magazine—now Counselor—among his accomplishments with the company.
ASI was one of 22 companies Segel founded in a 50-year career, with business interests ranging from publishing, aviation and software, to hospitality, behavior modification and photography, among others.
Segel sold ASI to the Cohn family, its current owners, in 1962, and remained with the company as an executive for several years. In 1964, he founded Franklin Mint, originally manufacturing sterling silver commemorative coins to mark the passing of General Douglas MacArthur.
It was in 1986, well past his retirement from Franklin Mint, that he founded QVC—it stands for Quality, Value, Convenience—in West Chester, Pennsylvania. With QVC, Segel created a network that, to this day, reflects his original model. On its website, QVC describes its mission as, “We connect with customers via authentic stories, interesting personalities and award-winning customer service. We invite customers to tell their stories and share their feedback. And we do it live, across multiple networks and platforms.” Today, QVC, now owned by Qurate, reaches 380 million households across 15 television networks.
Segel was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Electronic Retailing Association in 2002, listed by the Harvard Business School as one of the “Great Business Leaders of the Twentieth Century” in 2005 and named one of Wharton School’s most influential alumni in 2007. Segel was also among seven inaugural inductees chosen by the PPAI board in 1977 to be the first members of the Association’s Hall of Fame.
In 2012, the PPAI Board of Directors voted to create a Hall of Fame Recognition Program utilizing the Promotional Products Education Foundation’s Named Scholarships to honor HOF members for their lifetime contributions to the Association and industry. The PPAI Board will match industry donations up to $2,500 to fulfill the $5,000 commitment needed to create a Named Scholarship through the PPEF. To make a gift to establish a scholarship in Joseph Segel’s name, send a check payable to PPEF mentioning Segel Memorial in the memo line and mail it to PPEF, 3125 Skyway Circle North, Irving, TX 75038. Gifts can also be made online at www.ppef.us. Click on Donate and enter Joseph Segel Memorial in the Comments Section.
Segel’s wife Doris passed away in 2018. He is survived by his sons Marvin and Alan, stepdaughter Sandy Stern, six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
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John Schimmoller, partner and chief operating officer at Huntertown, Indiana-based Certified Marketing Consultants (PPAI 110557), a consulting firm focusing on the promotional products industry, passed away on December 18. He was 59.
Born in Defiance, Ohio, Schimmoller was a graduate of Ohio Northern University and a qualified CPA in Ohio. He is the former chief finance officer of Renaissance Corporation, and his professional background includes time on both the supplier and distributor sides of the promotional products industry.
“We are shocked and deeply saddened by the passing of John,” says Jamie Watson, MAS, partner at Certified Marketing Consultants. “His kindness and patience made him an amazing advisor, but also a dear friend. You rarely heard John say anything negative. He was a kind soul who would give you the shirt off his back. Thoughtful, intelligent and good-natured, he always gave people the benefit of the doubt. We feel privileged to have worked alongside him.”
Jeff Meyer, also a partner at Certified Marketing Consultants, adds, “I have known and worked with John and his beloved wife for 30 years. He was an incredible person and cherished friend. He will be missed but not forgotten until we meet again.”
Schimmoller was an enthusiastic hunter, fisherman and sportsman. He was an Eagle Scout and a member of both the Fort Wayne Rifle Club and the National Rifle Association. Schimmoller is survived by his wife, Mary-Ellen; his daughter Amber Mahaffey-Harris and her husband Erik Harris; sons Dylan Mahaffey and Ethan Schimmoller; grandchildren Yvette, Finn and Rosalie; his mother Darlene; sister Tamra Ummel and her husband Greg; and several sisters- and brothers-in-law. Memorials may be made in Schimmoller’s name to St. Martin’s Heath Services in Garrett, Indiana.
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James Khattak is news editor of PPB.
