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DATEBOOK
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Devin Piscitelli
DAY IN THE LIFE
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Teresa Beaudoin
CLOSE UP
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PEOPLE NEWS
NEW MEMBERS
NOVEMBER 2015 •
PPB
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hand for two days of education on the most pressing
product safety issues, along with panel discussions led
by industry thought-leaders and subject-matter experts,
and a number of networking opportunities. On
Monday, early arrivals also got an inside look at the
CPSC’s National Product Testing and Evaluation
Center in Rockville, Maryland, during one of two sold-
out tours. Opened in 2011 and located near the
Summit’s Bethesda location, the testing center houses
the CPSC’s state-of-the-art testing labs and equip-
ment, and engineering staff.
“It was a really good experience for me and I’m glad
I came,” says Troy Jones, vice president of operations at
Stellar Imports in Hawthorne, California. “On a daily
basis, we work with a lot of high-profile accounts and
it’s important to maintain testing protocols to ensure
compliance, and to be able to come into a facility like
this and see firsthand how those protocols are being
tested has been very informative. It helps me get a visual
of how the tests are run and the types of machinery and
equipment used. And to speak to the different engineers
and lab techs, and get insight on what they’re looking
for and what they’re looking at is huge.”
Its second day kicked off a two-day lineup of speak-
ers and experts only possible due to Summit’s proximity
to Washington, D.C., and the regulatory bodies head-
quartered there. A series of presentations, panel discus-
sions and interactive conversations explored the regula-
tory structures facing businesses and how to manage
them and the rules they follow, best practices and strate-
gies for mitigating risks and handling recalls, and how
to establish and run social responsibility programs.
Highlights were the keynote presentations delivered by
CPSC Commissioner Ann Marie Buerkle and CPSC
Chair Elliot Kaye.
Attendee Joanne Molina, DARD vice president of
operations and procurement, says her company is com-
mitted to supplying compliant and safe goods to its dis-
tributors. “The PPAI Summit is a great resource of
information when it comes to current governmental
requirements on product safety. We also want to hear
from other sources about different views concerning
product safety so we can make good and well-informed
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TOP
Cheryl Falvey’s Summit presentation, focusing on two key questions—who is
the regulator and what is the rule—drew a rapt audience.
BOTTOM
Following her
presentation, Falvey joined a panel discussion on understanding and acting on
the differences between regulations and standards.