PPAI has announced the recipients of its 2025 Icon Awards, which celebrate the accomplishments of those who have gone above and beyond in service to the promotional products industry, the Association and their communities.

This year’s honors are being bestowed on:

  • PPAI Hall of Fame: Jonathan Isaacson, MAS
  • PPAI Hall of Fame: Mark Jenkins, MAS+
  • PPAI Distinguished Service Award: Danny Sirmon, MAS
  • PPAI Distinguished Service Award: D’Anna Zimmer, CAS
  • H. Ted Olson Humanitarian Award: Joy Smith, MAS


The PPAI Hall of Fame

Celebrating individuals who have demonstrated monumental and selfless efforts and devotion to the promo industry, induction into the PPAI Hall of Fame gives permanent recognition to those whose creative spark and tireless dedication have helped the Association and industry prosper.

Isaacson has served as the CEO and chairman of the Gem Group, which goes to market under the name Gemline, since 1988. That nearly four-decade run has seen the Massachusetts-based company become the No. 11 supplier in PPAI 100. As the industry has seen changes, and obstacles have become standard procedures, Isaacson has navigated Gemline through shifting trends and led the industry by example.

“In the early 2000s when product importing was described as the Wild West, large advertisers were wary of our supply chain, and PPAI was just beginning to understand the threat that product safety was to our industry,” says Paul Kiewiet, MAS, a PPAI Hall of Famer who is retiring as executive director of MiPPA and nominated Isaacson. “Few suppliers understood, but Jonathan Isaacson already had protocols in place for product testing and responsibility.”

Isaacson has volunteered with PPAI through participation in the:

  • Strategic Planning Committee Strategic Foresight Committee
  • Strategic Foresight Committee
  • PPAI Product Responsibility Action Group

Kiewiet also applauded Isaacson’s commitment to educating the industry on the actions to take and pitfalls to avoid in order for promotional products to become a more ethically minded industry.

“Jonathan has spent his career not only building a strong company, but he has also been a champion for our industry, advancing corporate social responsibility and elevating the perception of promo,” Kiewiet says.

Also being inducted into the PPAI Hall of Fame is Mark Jenkins, regional vice president at Geiger and a 37-year veteran of the promo industry. Prior to joining the PPAI 100’s No. 5 distributor in 2022, Jenkins spent two decades prior at Pioneer Balloon Company before Geiger recruited him for his experience and industry contacts.

  • In 2015, Jenkins served as chair of the PPAI Board of Directors.
  • Since 2006, he has been actively volunteering for various PPAI groups, including the Hall of Fame Advisory Group, the Government Relations Advisory Council and through participation in Legislative Education Action Day.

“The depth of this professional’s knowledge and participation is one of which we can all be proud,” says Wayne Greenberg, MAS, of Swag Krewe – A Geiger Affiliate and PPAI Hall of Famer who nominated Jenkins. “Truly an amazing member of the PPAI community who has contributed so much to our industry and our Association.”

The PPAI Distinguished Service Award

The annual PPAI Distinguished Service Award is presented to Association members who consistently contribute their skills and expertise toward the betterment of the organization. Through volunteer service or by offering their leadership to PPAI, these are members who have generously given the gift of their energy, time and enthusiasm.

A nearly 40-year promo veteran, Danny Sirmon, president of Mobile, Alabama-based distributor Zebra Marketing, has been a long-time advocate for the industry.

Currently a member of the Sunbelt Promotional Products Association’s (SPPA) board of directors, Sirmon has volunteered with many PPAI committees and groups over the years, including the Technology Committee and Regional Association Council. In 2005-2006, he served as chair of the PPAI Board of Directors and, in 2016, he was named a PPAI Fellow.

After Hurricane Katrina, Sirmon was heavily involved in the development of what would become the Promotional Products Disaster Relief Program, which has supported hundreds of industry members during multiple natural disasters.

Sirmon’s recognition is a “no brainer” for nominator Karie Cowden, MAS, president of Phoenix-based distributor Connect The Dots and a member of the PPAI Board of Directors.

“Being a leader isn’t always easy, and at times you must ‘know what you know’ and take action,” says Cowden, who has volunteered beside Sirmon for more than 20 years. “Danny never backed down and always remembered that we serve our industry best by serving its members first.”

For nearly a quarter century, D’Anna Zimmer, a 2016 PPAI Fellow and current business development manager at BAG MAKERS – the No. 29 supplier in the PPAI 100 – has been dedicated to giving back to the industry.

She’s been heavily involved with the Regional Association Council, even serving as RAC delegate to the PPAI Board from 2017-2019. She’s also been a Legislative Education and Action Day participant on Capitol Hill and a two-time president of the Promotional Products Association Southwest board.

Since 2022, Zimmer has volunteered with the Promotional Products Education Foundation (PPEF), serving on the board of trustees, fundraising committee and golf workgroup. In 2023, she was vice chair of the marketing and recognition committee.

Most recently, she was paramount to the success of PPEF’s Glen Holt & Fran Ford Memorial Golf Tournament, raising more than $54,000, according to nominator Kathlene Brethowr, executive director at PPEF.

“To put that in perspective, that’s equivalent to 43 of the 170 scholarships that will be given in 2024,” Brethowr says. “D’Anna took on major responsibilities while I was out for maternity leave during the prime planning months and put together one of the most successful golf tournaments in the foundation’s history.

“Her dedication shows how much she truly cares about the PPEF mission – to fund college scholarships for promotional products industry employees and their children.”

The H. Ted Olson Humanitarian Award

Named after the late PPAI president emeritus, the H. Ted Olson Humanitarian Award is presented to members who have shown long-standing empathy, devotion and commitment to improving quality of life and bringing about change for the betterment of a community.

Those who know 30-year industry veteran Joy Smith, owner of New Mexico-based distributor Joy of Advertising and the 2024 PPAI Woman of Achievement, attest that she’s deserving of the honor.

A devoted volunteer, Smith has served on numerous committees and advisory councils, including chairing PPAI’s Professional Development Committee from 2020-2022. Named a PPAI Fellow in 2016, Smith also has the distinction of presenting the first MAS/CAS training at The PPAI Expo 2004.

  • She mentored 17 participants over the course of that year, nurturing and empowering the next generation of industry leaders.


Beyond the promo industry, she’s served in leadership positions for various nonprofit and civic organizations, including being named Honorary Chairwoman of the Business Advisory Council for New Mexico and receiving the 2003 National Leadership Award sponsored by then-congressman Tom DeLay. She’s embarked on service mission trips around the world, mentoring recent college graduates, providing food and clothes to an orphanage and working with prison and gang ministries.

Smith has served as chair of Albuquerque’s Foster Grandparent Program and founded the Women of Worth organization, which equips women who are homeless or near homeless with life skills and education.

  • She currently volunteers with Noonday Ministries and is the Blue Hat team leader for the New Mexico Southern Baptist Disaster Relief.
  • And, if that’s not enough, she rescues unsheltered animals, including a horse named Miracle who currently resides on her ranch.


“If I was Saint Peter at the pearly gates and up walked Joy Smith – with the legion of charities and service organizations she has helped selflessly – I would usher her right to the express lane,” says nominator and PPAI Hall of Fame member Mary Ellen Sokalski, MAS. “Her golden mane is actually a halo that should be recognized by her peers.”