PPB January 2017

JANUARY 2017

FEATURE

Celebrating Leadership Excellence

Midwest Association of Promotional

Professionals (UMAPP), an organization

for which he served as president in

2010. That year was a busy one for Scott,

who runs his full-service promotional

agency along with his wife, Katie, and

four others, and who was also serving

his second of a four-year term on the

PPAI board.

Asked how he strikes a balance

between volunteering, operating

the business, his family and other

obligations, Scott says, “It’s easy to

get out of whack when you get into a

volunteer mode. The best way I found

to strike a balance is to, initially, only

volunteer for things that have finite

start and stop dates, such as events: you

show up at 8 pm, do some things, leave

at 10 pm. Things get tricky when you

volunteer for committees or a board,

which is why it is important to sanity-

test the actual time commitment with

someone who has done the job.” He

adds that mature organizations tend to

have fewer time-commitment surprises

than start-ups. “When I joined the PPAI

board, I knew exactly what I was getting

myself into, timewise.”

Scott’s service extends beyond

the promotional products industry;

he’s also served on the board for

Buy Chanhassen (a group focused

on helping local businesses), the

Chanhassen Rotary, the Chanhassen

Planning Commission, and as a chief

fundraiser and secretary for the house

corporation board of Phi Gamma Delta

Fraternity. He’s currently on the board,

as treasurer, at Island View Golf Club.

“Joe is a great example of leading by

example,” says his nominator, Steven

Meyer, MAS, president of supplier

RiteLine and a former PPAI board chair

who worked with Scott during their PPAI

and UMAPP board service. “I considered

his comments and shared insights, both

public and private, as invaluable to my

role at both associations.”

Scott says volunteering has taught

him that you can’t fix everything and

you can’t help everyone, so you should

pick one thing at which you can excel.

For others who want to get involved, he

recommends choosing an organization

in which you are interested, asking

for their articles of incorporation,

bylaws and tax returns and going

to a couple of meetings before you

commit. “Finding a volunteer culture

that meshes with yours is really

important,” he advises. “Take on one

challenge at a time and don’t take on

more responsibility until you fully

understand the time commitment.”

From a business standpoint, Scott

is pragmatic about the time, talent

and effort he generously shares with

carefully selected organizations,

but when asked what the PPAI

Distinguished Service Award means

to him personally, he swallows hard

and ponders the question as if he

hadn’t really thought about it from that

perspective before.

“Volunteers are the soul of our

Association and those who have

come before us still live on via the

contributions of their mentees,” he says,

carefully. “Every interaction we have

with a member in need, no matter how

small, has the potential to change a

life—both personally and professionally.

“I was surprised—and laughed out

loud—when I found out I was nominated.

What did I do to be considered?

“It was when I was sent a document

showing all of my volunteer activities

since 1996 did it dawn on me. I

wasn’t aware of how much stuff I had

done; it was as natural as breathing.

It also dawned on me that none

of this would have happened had

I not met a certain editor at The

PPAI Expo in 1996 who offered me

my first volunteer opportunity.”

Tina Berres Filipski is editor of

PPB.

A long-time musician, Scott

is shown playing guitar in the

3-Car Garage Band.

“I was

surprised—and

laughed out

loud—when

I found out I

was nominated.

What did I do to

be considered?”

Scott, and his wife and

business partner, Katie.

CMY