As Hurricane Helene battered Georgia, Tricia Williams huddled in the hallway of her Lake Park home with her husband Scott, their two sons and their three cats, listening to glass shattering and unknown objects rolling over their roof.

“It was the most horrifying three hours of my life,” says Williams, CEO of distributor My Tribe Print & Promo.

The next morning, the family surveyed the damage: 26 windows were broken, including the passenger window of their car, a new roof and fence were needed and a live oak tree flattened their chicken coop. Miraculously, the nine chickens survived.

  • Hurricane Helene caused deadly flooding along Florida’s west coast and in cities of neighboring states such as Asheville, North Carolina, leaving at least 230 people dead across the South, The Associated Press reported.


Despite the destruction, Williams is counting her blessings. Her family is safe, and they’re able to live at home. Plus, after driving to Tallahassee, Florida, to buy a generator, Williams’ distributorship resumed operations just three days after the storm. Many of her neighbors weren’t as fortunate – their houses destroyed and their businesses still crumbling nearly two weeks later.

“Recovery will definitely take a while,” Williams says. “We’re still trying to move a lot of debris to the side of the road so FEMA can pick it up. My son and our next-door neighbor loaded up chainsaws into the pickup truck to go cut trees down and pull them out of roads so people could leave their homes. I feel so fortunate to have had so many amazing suppliers in the industry reach out just to see if we’re okay.”

Hurricane Milton Hits

Florida residents – and promo firms – have endured another natural disaster as Hurricane Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm on Wednesday night, leaving more than 3 million people in the state without power, CNN reported.

  • Wind gusts of 100 mph were recorded near Tampa, where a flash flood emergency was issued. 


“What we can say is the storm was significant, but thankfully, this was not the worst-case scenario,” said Florida Governor Ron DeSantis during a press conference. “The storm did weaken before landfall, and the storm surge, as initially reported, has not been as significant overall as what was observed for Hurricane Helene.”

The extent to which Hurricane Milton will affect promo companies and for how long is yet to be determined, but a handful of area firms have been in touch with PPAI Media to provide tentative updates.

LET US KNOW: Report Promotional Products Business Disruptions

Koozie Group – the No. 9 supplier in the PPAI 100 – has closed its Clearwater, Florida-based facilities until it’s safe to reopen.  

Hit Promotional Products – PPA 100’s No. 4 supplier – has also closed and will continue to provide updates as the week progresses.

  • Epoly, based in Naples, will be closed Thursday with plans to open again on Friday “as long as there is power.”
  • AutoTran, also located in Naples, has already closed and will remain so “until it is safe to return to the office.”
  • Tattoo Factory, based in Sarasota, will remain closed on Thursday with tentative hopes to open Friday, according to the company’s president, Stephen Bloom.
  • Port St. Lucie, Florida-based distributor IDProductsource has shifted to remote operations for the safety and well-being of its staff.


Promo Rallies Together

The immediate needs for those still in danger are immense, and the recovery process for the people, homes and businesses in affected areas will be an enormous undertaking.

The Florida region has a large promo community, and industry firms – in the area and elsewhere – are providing opportunities to help. PPAI Media is committed to amplifying their efforts.

  • If your promotional products company has established a humanitarian response, click here to share details if you would like to be included.

While Williams waits on the insurance adjuster’s report and quotes from several home repair contractors, she’s currently hosting her friend and fellow promo pro Belinda Dyal, branded merchandise manager at Waukegan, Illinois-based distributor Lake County Press. Dyal and her kitten Babygirl evacuated Daytona Beach ahead of Hurricane Milton.

“We’re making the best of it,” Williams says. “We’re making lemon drop martinis out of lemons.”

Williams is also offering her yard for others in the industry who need somewhere to park their RVs while seeking shelter from Milton. She estimates that there’s space for five RVs, and she even has an RV hookup for power on the outside of her home.

“Anybody that needs help is more than welcome here,” says Williams, who you can contact at tricia@mytribepnp.com.