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INNOVATE
24 •
PPB
• JANUARY 2016
Slagle teamed with volunteer
leaders to launch new prod-
ucts and services, and to
forge stronger relationships
with industry groups, includ-
ing the regional associations.
“We looked at things
other associations were
doing that PPAI had not
tried. When I first joined
PPAI, we didn’t have a sales
team or a marketing team.
Our staff were more “order
takers” than “order makers”
and it took awhile for both
our board and our staff to
become more competitive
and aggressive in our
approaches. We had to bring
more of a sense of urgency
to the competitive changes
we faced.
“Some things we tried
didn’t work, and not every-
thing was successful,” says
Slagle. “We struggled to find
technology tools that our
members wanted and need-
ed, but PPAI finally got it
right by partnering with a
company that was already
providing valuable technolo-
gy tools to the industry–and
that was SAGE. I’ve always
been a believer that if you
don’t have a few failures
along the way, you’re not
really trying anything new. I
tried to keep our focus
on having the associa-
tion be relevant to its
members, and I
believe we did a pret-
ty good job of that
through the years.”
One of the indus-
try’s most significant
competitive decisions
came in 2003, when
The PPAI Expo relocated
from Dallas after 26 years to
Las Vegas. And the prepara-
tion and planning leading up
to the shift proved just as
monumental, Slagle says.
“We had made the com-
mitment to compete aggres-
sively in the marketplace, and
there came a point in 2001-
2002 when we were trying to
figure out how to better posi-
tion our premiere trade
show. As a group, we
believed we needed to con-
sider moving Expo to gener-
ate better attendance and
more excitement, so we
moved Expo to Las Vegas.
“We finalized the deci-
sion in one month, just nine
months before the show’s
launch in 2003. There was a
huge risk involved—a lot
financially, but also for our
reputation,” he says. “When
we finalized the decision, the
facility [Mandalay Bay
Convention Center] wasn’t
completed. So we had all
these contingency plans.
That’s a significant tactical
decision, but our staff exe-
cuted the plan really well. I
was really proud of our board
and our staff for making that
decision and for making the
decision pay off.”
Slagle says none of the
Association’s progress during
his tenure would have been
possible without key volunteer
leadership and commitment.
“It seemed like we always
had just the right volunteer
leaders in key positions to
help lead the Association
when challenges arose.
PPAI is blessed with terrific
volunteers, and the list of
ABOVE LEFT
Steve Slagle
and his late wife,
Debra
.
ABOVE RIGHT
Steve Slagle
learned leadership lessons early in life as a scout.
BOTTOM
RIGHT
Steve Slagle
(far right) and others show off their cowboy boots during a retirement party for
Kurt Reckziegel
(third from right), former
head of the Promotional Professionals Association of Canada.
Steve Slagle, CAE
2016 PPAI Hall Of Fame