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NOVEMBER 2015 •
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The Regional Association Council (RAC) has
elected its 2016 executive officers and new
board members. The new leadership lineup
includes Ryan Small, CAS, president; Janet
McMaster, MAS, vice president; Nick D’Eramo,
secretary; D’Anna Zimmer, CAS, treasurer; Scott
Hareid, RAC delegate to the PPAI Board of
Directors; and Rebecca McLaughlin, CAS,
immediate past president. The new officers will
begin their one-year terms following The PPAI
Expo 2016 in Las Vegas.
RAC also welcomes three newly elected
board members for 2016. They are: Nick
D’Eramo, representing District 1; D’Anna
Zimmer, CAS, representing District 4; and Bob
Levitt, MAS, representing District 5. Larry Arntz,
representing District 1; Jeff Shaw, representing
District 3; Tiffany Tarr, CAS, representing
District 4, and Jon Henrickson, CAS, represent-
ing District 5, will continue their service to the
RAC Board for 2016.
Tom Carpenter, MAS, and Kim Newell will
be retiring from the RAC Board at The PPAI Expo.
Ryan Small, CAS, RAC President
Small, a fifth-generation Nashville native,
lives by the mantra “Life is short, live large.” He
is president and managing partner for Blue
Dog Merch, a promotional products consulting
firm, and Thread F/X, a family-owned supplier
founded in 1998 that specializes in contract
embroidery, screen printing and fulfillment.
Janet McMaster, MAS, Vice President
McMaster is a regional sales vice president
for Lewiston, Maine distributor Geiger. She
held board positions with the Philadelphia
Area Promotional Products Association
(PAPPA), then the Specialty Advertising
Counselors of the Delaware Valley (SACDV), in
2004–2005 and 2007–2010. McMaster is cur-
rently the board president of the Carolinas
Association of Advertising and Marketing
Professionals (CAAMP).
Nick D’Eramo, Secretary
D’Eramo has been co-owner of Triple Stitch
Promotions and Direct Threads, based in
Connecticut, for 34 years. He has served on the
board of directors of the New England
Promotional Products Association (NEPPA) from
2009-2015 and has held the offices of secre-
tary, treasurer, vice-president and president
and currently serves as immediate past presi-
dent. Nick participated in L.E.A.D. in 2012,
2013 and 2015, and has served on PPAI’s
Government Relations Action Council (GRAC) in
2014 to present.
D’Anna Zimmer, CAS, Treasurer
Currently the Texas and Oklahoma territory
rep for Bag Makers, Inc., Zimmer has worked as
a supplier rep for more than 19 year after
beginning as a distributor sales rep for
Marketing Incentives. She has served in several
capacities on the Promotional Products
Association of the South board, including vice
president twice, president twice, and RAC
Delegate for several terms. In her role as RAC
Delegate, she has attended L.E.A.D. three times
and helped PPAS host L.E.A.D. Local in Austin,
Texas in 2015.
Rebecca Mclaughlin, CAS, Immediate
Past President
Mclaughlin has spent her decade-long
career in the promotional products industry at
CPS/Keystone, where she is now the Erie,
Pennsylvania-based supplier’s sales and opera-
tions manager. An active member of the Three
Rivers Advertising Specialty Association
(TRASA), she has served as the regional associa-
tion’s show chair for two years, as well as board
vice president and president.
Scott Hareid, RAC Delegate to the PPAI
Board
Hareid is president and owner of the multi-
line representative agency Hareid Marketing and
has worked in the promotional products industry
for 18 years. In the past 10 years, he has volun-
teered with the Upper Midwest Association of
Promotional Professionals (UMAPP), including a
term as the board president. Hareid also chaired
UMAPP’s Membership, Booth Show and Room
Show committees, and in 2008 he worked with
PPAI on the Supplier Forum held in St. Paul,
Minnesota.
Bob Levitt, MAS, Representing District 5
Levitt owns of The Bob Levitt Company, a
distributorship based in West Hills, California.
Bob has more than 32 years of promotional
products experience and has spent his entire
adult life volunteering. He has served as the
chairman of the board of managers for the East
Valley Family YMCA for nine years, and is active
in his regional association, SAAC, and has held
many positions.
RAC Elects 2016 Board of Directors
PPAI Staff Work Toward Industry Certifications
The PPAI Staff Certification Program is a PPAI initiative aimed
at providing PPAI staff members with the knowledge base to effec-
tively offer great member value by demonstrating competency in pro-
motional products industry concepts, ideas, and best practices.
The majority of PPAI staff members have not served in a promo-
tional products industry role and therefore do not typically qualify for
PPAI industry certifications, so the Association created internal certi-
fications to signify staff efforts to become familiar with industry best
practices and the history of the promotional products field.
Certified Advertising Specialist, Non-Industry (CASN) and
Master Advertising Specialist, Non-Industry (MASN) certifications do
not require industry experience or the accumulation of required points,
but their achievement is based on a passing score on the CAS and
MAS exams. PPAI requires all employees at manager level or above to
attain their CASN, while the Association’s directors and executive team
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