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JANUARY 2016 •
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observes young people in the
industry and watches who
takes the time to care about
others. “Those are the peo-
ple I help. There are a lot of
40-ish guys—and some
women—in the industry
whom I have mentored that
call me Mom,” she says. And
she’s serious.
“The reason mentoring is
so important to me is
because I was mentored. I
had great mentors early in my
career. They took the time to
share with me and it made
me feel a deep commitment
to mentoring.” She even
mentors her 9- and 11-year-
old grandsons, Fletcher and
Hudson, imparting life les-
sons with every outing to a
sporting event. Once she was
even brought in for show-
and-tell in Fletcher’s kinder-
garten class. She taught the
class how to shake hands and
look someone in the eye.
“Some of those kids still
come up to me and shake my
hand,” she laughs.
Three Rules
In 2010, Moisant had the
opportunity to hear famed
football coach Lou Holtz
speak, an experience she says
changed her life. “I used to
spend hours thinking about
ways to beat the system,” she
says. But in his speech, she
recalls, Holtz said you should
live by three simple rules: 1)
Do the right thing; 2) If you’re
going to do something, give
it 100 percent; 3) Treat all
people with respect.
“Living by those three
rules has simplified my life,”
she says. “When you’re
always doing the right thing,
you never have to spend time
worrying about how to beat
the system.”
Connecting Others
With her outgoing person-
ality and enthusiasm, Moisant
is a natural connector. She’s
constantly helping others find
people who can meet their
needs. “Even my grandsons
know it. When their school
needed some fencing donat-
ed, Hudson stood up and
said, ‘Call my Nana. She
knows people.’”
And receiving the
Distinguished Service Award
leaves her feeling flattered.
“To be honored in the indus-
try and to be recognized by
your peers is so important.
This award is really about tak-
ing the time to do something
nice for someone and ask,
‘Who can I connect to make
their lives better today?’”
Coming to Expo every
year is a great opportunity,
Moisant says. “Some people
like to go shopping. I like to
go to Expo because I love
[promotional] products. It’s
the ultimate shopping experi-
ence for me. I can’t imagine
not going to Expo if you’re in
this industry.”
“When you’re always doing the right thing, you
never have to spend time worrying about how to
beat the system.”
Teresa Moisant, MAS
2016 PPAI Distinguished Service Award
BELOW
Teresa with grandsons Fletcher (left) and Hudson.