PPB January 2015

INNOVATE

12 •

PPB

• JANUARY 2015

INNOVATE

PROFILE

HERE WAS NO DOUBT in the mind of Barbara Dail, MAS,

that she’d found her kind of people when she discovered the pro-

motional products industry. It welcomed her with open arms after

the death of her husband left her seeking employment, taught her that competi-

tors can be friends and supported her life’s motto: If you want to keep it, you’ve

got to give it away.

“To be honest, it’s embarrassing,” she says of her selection as recipient of the

2015 PPAI H. Ted Olson Humanitarian Award, which she will receive this

month at the PPAI Expo in Las Vegas. “You really get more out of this than

you give. You don’t do it for people to make a big deal out of it.”

The honor, named to commemorate the exceptional service of PPAI’s late

president emeritus, recognizes the extraordinary volunteerism that Dail has shown

both in her 23 years as a promotional products distributor and in her community.

The work she’s done for the industry spans from serving on 13 PPAI volunteer

committees, advisory councils and action groups, and helping to found and manage

the 14-year-old online industry networking site Coffee Talk to mentoring others in

the industry. Dail has been recognized within her community as a lifetime member

of the PTA and a sustaining member of the National Charity League. She is also

nearing completion of her two-millionth care package for U.S. military members as

part of her work with Operation Gratitude, where she is director of outreach.

Her involvement with the military began in 2002 when Dail coordinated an

effort to knit hats, scarves and socks for military personnel, and she recruited

other industry volunteers to help make the 1,000 items she sent overseas.

“She has served as my inspiration for what one person can do to make a

change … just with a pair of knitting needles,” says Pam Wolle, MAS, president

of Battle Ground, Washington-based distributor Wild n’ Wooly Marketing, Inc.

(UPIC: WILD).

A mother, grandmother, entrepreneur, volunteer and power-knitter, Dail’s

friends say she mentors everyone she touches. “Barbara has undergone medical

GENEROSITY OF

SPIRIT

PPB

TALKS WITH BARBARA DAIL, MAS, WINNER OF THE 2015

PPAI H. TED OLSON HUMANITARIAN AWARD.

BY TAMA UNDERWOOD

Twenty-three-year industry veteran Barbara Dail, MAS,

co-founder of Anaheim, California, distributor The

Creative Solution (UPIC: TCS), is the 2015 PPAI H. Ted

Olson Humanitarian Award winner. She’s served as an

Association volunteer since 1999, co-founded the online

industry networking site Coffee Talk and has helped to

gift nearly two million care packages to those serving in

the U.S. military.