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110
DATEBOOK
103
Bill Petrie
DAY IN THE LIFE
99
Forrest Fairley
CLOSE UP
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PEOPLE NEWS
NEW MEMBERS
SEPTEMBER 2015 •
PPB
• 95
Early arrivals chose from a variety of opportunities: a pre-confer-
ence bus tour of the richly historic city, a boat cruise on the
Mississippi River or a cooking demonstration featuring some of New
Orleans’ finest dishes. Then the event officially got under way with a
welcome dinner and presentation of the PPAI 2015 Woman of
Achievement Award to this year’s recipient, Sherri C. Lennarson,
MAS, president of Having Fun Promotions (see story on page 86).
The extensive curriculum was rich with sessions relevant to today’s
businesses including leadership, empowerment, strategic planning, suc-
cession planning, business challenges, accountability, personal brand-
ing, mentoring, budget development and technology. Throughout the
program, professional speakers shared the stage with industry peers
such as Lori Bauer of BIC Graphic, who spoke about personal leader-
ship and shared some of the tips that have made her successful in her
17 years at one of the industry’s largest suppliers. Industry men, too,
added to the expertise at this year’s program, including Dale Denham,
MAS+, of Geiger, who packed more than 50 attendees into his break-
out session on technologies to increase efficiency and productivity.
The closing general session featured professional speaker Dawnna St
Louis, who shared her personal story of living in her car as a young
woman, and the hard work, tenacity and conviction that led her from ulti-
mate poverty to owner of a highly successful business. “I was successful
because my boss gave me an opportunity but I was 100-percent successful
because I took every opportunity he gave me,” she told her audience.
First-timer Tayla Carpenter, manager of A Woman’s View for dis-
tributor iPROMOTEu, was thrilled with her inaugural experience. “The
networking opportunities were abundant and interactions were meaning-
ful,” she says. “The variety of topics was robust and content was relevant.
Overall, an atmosphere of growth and development was created and, as
always, it was up to each attendee to make the most of it. I know I did!”
Another first-timer, Deanna Cross, president of Business
Incentives, attended the conference as this year’s recipient of the
Women’s Leadership Conference Grant. “I had an absolute blast
learning and sharing experiences with all the amazing women,” she
says. “It was an unforgettable experience, and I want to thank everyone
at PPAI for this opportunity. I cannot wait until next year.”
Cindy Smith, executive vice president of Brown & Bigelow, also
attended for the first time. “PPAI’s WLC offers women in the industry
a unique forum to network, to learn from their peers and to have fun in
SNAPSHOTS
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115
TOP
Prepared for a little rain before the final night event;
MIDDLE
Rosanne Webster, SnugZ USA, with Bille Walchek and Dana Floyd,
SAGE;
BOTTOM
breakout sessions proved invaluable to all.