In Recognition Of Mary Jo Tomasini, MAS

At The PPAI Expo 2017, Mary Jo Tomasini, MAS, took up the gavel as chair of the PPAI Board of Directors for 2017-2018. Tomasini is CEO of distributor CE Competitive Edge, LLC (PPAI 103776) in Stevensville, Michigan, and a 30-plus-year veteran of the promotional products industry.

My sincere appreciation and congratulations to you, Mary Jo, for accepting this position and giving of your time and talents to our organization. I know you will bring all your knowledge and passion to the position and will move our industry forward. I feel privileged to have you in my circle and wish you the very best in this coming year.

Elaine Grundhauser

President

One 2 One Marketing

Burnsville, Minnesota

PPAI 164159

Congratulations, Mary Jo Tomasini! You have accepted the reins of a very important position and are to be congratulated, and deeply thanked, for the necessary involvement in terms of expertise and time.

Margaret Custer Ford, MAS

Founder

MARCO Ideas Unlimited, Inc.

Portland, Oregon

PPAI 106680

Young Professional POV

In February, PPAI Diversity Development and Engagement Manager Seth Barnett joined the Promotional Products Association Southwest (PPAS) in Dallas for a young professional panel discussion. On the panel with Barnett were Mike Eaton, LoriEaton.com; Farrah Vargas, Allied Affiliated Funding, and Sarah Thomas, American Solutions for Business.

Seth and the panel members were terrific. Far from being of one mind, they offered differing views and opinions of industry practices. From marketing ideas to impact other younger demographic buyers to what platform or device to use to reach out, they provided enlightening insights. Seth did a wonderful job in probing for deeper reactions. [It was a] wonderful event.

Steven Meyer

Vice President of Sales

RiteLine

Dallas, Texas

PPAI 198224

Above And Beyond

In the February issue of PPB, the penultimate installment of Abigail Tiefenthaler’s series on entrepreneurship, “Cultivating Bigger, Better Sales,” looked at the right way to approach sales when starting a new business. Tiefenthaler is the founder of Aiken, South Carolina, distributor Sweetspot Strategies, Inc., and is a speaker and consultant helping entrepreneurs run the businesses they really want to run.

I reached out to Abigail after reading this article and she spent an hour with me on the phone helping me with even more great information on kickstarting my promotional products business. She has so much experience and knowledge in the industry and is a great resource. Thanks, Abigail!

Scott Koch

President

PrintWorks Screenprinting

Lincoln, Nebraska

PPAI 701607