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JANUARY 2016 •
PPB
• 29
Bruce Felber, MAS
2016 PPAI Distinguished Service Award
he learned about PPAI, joined
and took his volunteer service
to a new level.
Ask Felber why he chose
to get involved in PPAI lead-
ership and the answer comes
easily. “It was probably a self-
ish reason at first because I
wanted to educate myself
and meet other industry col-
leagues,” he says. “But then I
found I really liked the
Association and the staff.”
Like his interest in improv-
ing OPPA’s trade show,
Felber was passionate about
what he could do to enhance
the industry’s reputation and
PPAI’s brand image so, after
serving on several PPAI com-
mittees, he volunteered for
the Public Relations
Committee and served as
chair for two years. “I always
wanted to get on the PR
committee because I didn’t
like the way our industry was
perceived on the open mar-
ket,” he says. “The
Association has done a lot
over the years to change that
perception.”
During his long industry
career, he has also provided
leadership to PPAI as a mem-
ber of the Distributors
Committee and Technology,
Terminology & Standards
Committee, the
PPB
Editorial
Advisory Council, Awards
Advisory Council and the PR
Advisory Council. For three
years he served as board
trustee for the Promotional
Products Education
Foundation and for four years
as a member of the PPAI
Board of Directors, which
included terms on the Budget
& Finance Committee,
Nominating Committee and
Executive Committee. He cur-
rently is a member of the
PPAI Certification Committee
and the Public Relations
Advisory Group.
A lifelong learner and avid
educator, Felber has been
active as a webinar presenter
and a speaker at The PPAI
Expo and Expo East,
presented on behalf of the
Promotional Professionals
Mentoring Network, conducted
instructor training and
contributed articles to
PPB
magazine,
Print & Promo
magazine and the former
Corporate Logo
magazine.
He was also an early PPAI
Ambassador speaking at col-
leges and universities about
the value of promotional
products.
Although committee work
has its challenges
(“Sometimes people don’t
take their roles seriously or
are on a committee for the
wrong reasons,” Felber says),
he admits he has seen many
more victories than defeats
through volunteering.
Among the victories he
counts the many friendships
he’s made that have lasted
through the years and
brought about new opportu-
“My best advice is to get involved—you are going
to learn by helping others and meeting people you
won’t meet in any other environment.”
ABOVE
One of
Bruce Felber
’s proudest moments was his induction
into the
Ohio Promotional Professionals Association Hall of Fame
in 2008. Looking on is OPPA Executive Director
LaDonna Belcher
.