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IN MEMORIAM \ Jack Nadel
Jack Nadel, businessman, industry leader,
World War II hero, philanthropist, speaker
and award-winning writer, passed away
of natural causes at his home in Santa
Barbara, California, on September 24, just
days before his 93rd birthday.
A pioneer in the promotional products
industry, Nadel started distributor Jack
Nadel International in 1953. During his more
than 70 years in business, Nadel founded,
acquired and operated more than a dozen
companies that produced hundreds of new
products and thousands of jobs.
During the Reagan administration, he
was appointed as an official delegate to a
trade mission to Japan working toward the
goal of free trade around the world. In the
1960s he was elected to the PPAI Board of
Directors and served as chair in 1970-71.
In 1988 PPAI honored him with induction
into the PPAI Hall of Fame.
“Jack Nadel was a promotional products
industry icon,” says Don Edwards, CAS,
principal of Don Edwards Marketing, who
served as PPAI board chair in the late ’70s.
“Jack was a true leader and genuine mover and
shaker. His accomplishments were legendary.
He was way ahead of the curve of everyone
else—that was part of his success. He was
a visionary like no one had ever seen in this
industry. I am honored to have known him.”
Mark Gilman, CAS, chairman of Gill
Studios, Inc., another contemporary and
former PPAI board chair, credits Nadel with
pushing the limits of what business leaders
at the time thought was possible for the
promotional products industry. “He was full
of energy and was a truly dynamic individual.
He pushed the whole industry to raise the bar
and be more confident than we were.”
Craig Nadel, CAS, CEO of Jack Nadel
International, remembers his uncle as a very
principled visionary. “Jack Nadel founded
this company, and many others too,” he
says, “and while he retired long ago, the
DNA of his company runs through us still.
He was ahead of his time in many ways
and always pushed us to be a creative and
service-oriented company. He was also a
man of very high integrity and we strive to
live to those values each day.”
Always an achiever and a giver, Nadel
spent the past decade lecturing at colleges
and universities, writing books, mentoring
future business leaders and, with his
wife, Julie, supporting a wide variety of
philanthropic efforts in Santa Barbara through
the Nadel Foundation. His last book, The
Evolution of an Entrepreneur, was an award-
winning e-book. He also won the inaugural
Entrepreneurial Lifetime Notable Achievement
Award from Santa Barbara City College.
Nadel is survived by his wife, Julie,
children Judie and Jeff, stepchildren Shari
and Hillary, eight grandchildren and two
great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests
gifts in his memory be sent to Sansum
Clinic (P.O. Box 1200, Santa Barbara,
California 93102, Attn: Dru A. Hartley).
These gifts will be directed to the Nadel
Prescription Navigator Program.
See who hasmoved in—and up—in the promotional world
compiled by James Khattak
Katie Hallstrom Pete Gleason Kippie Helzel Sarah deBoer-Hjort Gregg Szpicek Tim Brown, MAS
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BUSINESS SERVICES
Quality Certification Alliance
(UPIC: QCA)—Tim Brown, MAS,
executive director-operations
DISTRIBUTOR
American Solutions for Business
(UPIC: AMER0005)—Kathryn
‘Katie’ Hallstrom, promoted to
vice president of human resources
Post Oak Graphics (UPIC:
16010POG)—Eric Ellison, as
senior account manager
SUPPLIERS
CPS/Keystone (UPIC: keystone)—
Pete Gleason, vice president of
sales; Kippie Helzel, promoted to
senior vice president of sales
Fields Manufacturing (UPIC:
FIELDS)—Sarah deBoer-Hjort,
western territory sales manager
Graphco Line (UPIC: GRAPHCO)—
Travis Bovard, customer service
representative role
Prime Resources Corp. (UPIC:
PRIME)—Gregg Szpicek, as
senior manager of key accounts
Terry Town (UPIC: TERRYTWN)—
Scott Blankenship and Sharon
Wohlleber to represent the
company in Arkansas, Louisiana,
Oklahoma and Texas
Thermopatch, doing business
as DECO-PRINT (UPIC:
decoprnt)—Roger Redmond,
engineering manager
100 | NOVEMBER 2016 |
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