Distributor AIM Smarter LLC (PPAI 230461, D12) today announced the formation of the AIM Diversity Council and its commitment to embrace and drive programs that promote the mission of the council within the organization, the promotional products industry and the AIM community. The newly formed council consists of top AIM distributor companies AB Unlimited Worldwide; Brand Pride; Firesign, Inc.; Jolin Promo; The Savvy Gift Giver, LLC; Savvy Custom Gifts; Striking Promotions and supplier companies including BIC Graphic, Gemline, Goldstar and Gold Bond.
“Embracing diversity and inclusion has always been a core principle at AIM and essential to the organization’s future goals and vision,” says Nichole Stella, CEO at AIM Smarter. “With more than 2,200 members of the AIM organization, it is our mission to foster an inclusive environment that advocates for and is inspirational and reflective of our entire community. The formation of the council is just the first step for AIM to be a driving force in the industry for these efforts.”
The newly established council has cemented its mission statement and named two co‐chairs to help drive the council’s initiatives forward: Amy Williams, CEO, AB Unlimited Worldwide, and Katie Taylor, president, The Savvy Gift Giver.
“I am committed to promoting diversity within the promotional products industry, particularly in creating a pathway to diversity in leadership positions,” says Williams. “As a community, we need to better understand the conversations surrounding diversity and how these conversations impact the promotional products industry and its communities that we serve.”
Taylor adds, “As a minority businessowner for over 25 years, I am committed to diversity and inclusion in my company and the business community at large. I believe these principles should be reflected in the foundation, administration and customer base of any business.”
With the implementation of the Diversity Council and gathering feedback from its members about what diversity, equity and inclusion means to them, AIM created the following mission statement to help define and support its purpose:
“At AIM, we believe in embracing a culture of diversity and inclusion. This is a guiding principle that is instrumental in how we build our teams, cultivate leaders, and create a collaborative and inclusive environment throughout our AIM community, our industry and our communities. Our inclusive culture supports diverse perspectives, drives courageous conversations and empowers the AIM community to be their authentic selves, to be bold, to innovate, to connect and ultimately, to grow stronger together. We are #AIMStrong.”
AIM’s Diversity Council will host an educational series on diversity, equity and inclusion in 2021. These sessions will be available for all distributors and suppliers within the promotional products industry with topics including: “Why is DEI important to you, me, us?,” “How to implement DEI in the workplace,” “DEI as seen by an employee” and much more. AIM has partnered with professional speaker and CEO of Cohesion Collective, Roy Gluckman, who will lead the event series and kickoff with an introductory keynote on February 9. When asked what fuels his passion for diversity and inclusion, Gluckman says, “I realized that I embodied the problem, so I decided to become the solution.”
