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AUGUST 2016 •
PPB
• 81
INSIDE
PPAI
IN JUNE, PPAI ANNOUNCED
that offi-
cers had been selected for the
Association’s 2017 Board of Directors.
They are Mary Jo Tomasini, MAS, chair;
Dale Denham, MAS+, chair-elect; and
Brittany David, CAS, vice chair, financial
services. They will begin their one-year
terms immediately following The PPAI
Expo 2017. Tom Goos, MAS, the 2016
PPAI Board chair, will move to the imme-
diate past chair role in 2017. The officers
were selected by the PPAI Board Officer
Nominating Committee and voted on by
the PPAI board.
“PPAI is extremely fortunate to have
the caliber of experienced leaders and
deeply committed volunteers it has, who
are so willing to give of their time and
talents to the board, and even more so
when they aspire to the board’s most
time-consuming, challenging and impor-
tant leadership roles,” says Rick Brenner,
MAS+, immediate past board chair and
chair of the Board Officer Nominating
Committee.
CHAIR OF THE BOARD
MARY JO
TOMASINI, MAS
, CEO of distributor CE
Competitive Edge, LLC in Stevensville,
Michigan, is a 30-plus-year veteran of
the promotional products industry.
Tomasini founded CE in 1993 and has
transformed it into one of the largest
promotional products companies in the
industry. She is a member of the
Michigan Promotional Products
Association (MiPPA) and currently chairs
PPAI’s Government Relations Advisory
Council (GRAC). Tomasini has worked to
encourage women in business, serving
as a Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE)
mentor for women in Michigan starting a
new business or considering Women’s
Business Enterprise National Council
(WBENC) certification. She is an alumna
of Lake Michigan College and serves on
the foundation and alumni boards. She
also currently chairs the Lake Michigan
College Board of Trustees.
“The founder of a highly successful
woman-owned distributorship in Western
Michigan, Mary Jo Tomasini will be an
exceptional chair when she takes the
reins next year,” says Brenner. “She is
smart, successful and has years of senior
non-profit board experience. Having
worked closely with her on the board for
the past two years, I can attest that she
is spot on with her insights and always
has a sensible approach to the matters
we handle on the Executive Committee
and with recommendations we make to
the board.”
CHAIR-ELECT
DALE DENHAM, MAS+
,
is the CIO of Lewiston, Maine-based dis-
tributor Geiger. Denham is a member of
the four-person senior leadership team
which sets business direction for the
firm, and is responsible for technology
strategies and oversees a staff of 25.
Prior to joining Geiger, Denham served
as senior vice president of ASI for 10
years and was president of Impact Data
for five years prior to that. He has served
on several PPAI committees—
Membership Services, Leadership
Advisory, Government Relations Action
Council and Technology, of which he
was chair. He originated, organized and
chaired the first (and the successive)
PPAI Technology Summit. Denham has
served as president of PPA Florida and is
currently a chef in PromoKitchen. He is
also the organizer and leader of a non-
PPAI group of distributors and suppliers
working to develop industry technology
standards, and frequently speaks at
PPAI, regional and industry events.
Computerworld
recognized him in 2015
as one of the nation’s 100 premier IT
leaders for his leadership and innovative
approaches to business challenges.
“Dale Denham, our new chair-elect,
is an equally capable and highly
accomplished candidate,” adds
Brenner. “His work on advancing tech-
nology solutions for the industry have
won plaudits from all whom I have spo-
ken to about the work of his commit-
tee—large and small distributors and
suppliers alike. Dale brings broad expe-
rience to the board, having spent years
PPAI ANNOUNCES 2017 BOARD OFFICERS
NOW BOARDING