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JANUARY 2017
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93
Celebrating Leadership Excellence
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FEATURE
H
.
Wayne Roberts’s desire to
contribute to the betterment of his
community and industry was sparked
in his youth by seeing his parents give
of their own time to local efforts. That
spark ignited a flame in Roberts that led
to him to serve as a faithful volunteer for
dozens of organizations, including PPAI.
This year’s recipient of the PPAI H. Ted
Olson Humanitarian Award says it was
his community service that led him to the
industry in the first place.
“It’s interesting that my volunteer
activities led me in a roundabout
way to promotional products. Before
my days in the industry I was in the
restaurant business. We used a number of
promotional products like matches, pens,
etc. I really didn’t think that much about
it at the time, and of course in those days
no one knew what specialty advertising
or promotional products meant,”
Roberts recalls.
“Through my involvement in the
Jaycees [United States Junior Chamber],
we used more promotional products in
the promotion of a county beauty pageant
where we brought in Miss America.
Then, when I ran for mayor of Clarksville
[Virginia] I used Gill Line posters, matches
and pens, which I really counted on to
gain me visibility.
“In talking with my Brown & Bigelow
manager, I was intrigued by promotional
products,” says Roberts. “One thing led to
another and the next thing I knew I was a
salesperson for Brown & Bigelow.”
As a young man, Roberts had conducted
grassroots work for political campaigns,
and after college he joined his local
Jaycees chapter in Clarksville. He also saw
another opportunity to help improve his
hometown—as the mayor.
“When I was young I started working on
my dad’s election to the town council. And
since he was very well acquainted with
elected officials on the county, state and
federal level, I had an opportunity to be
around some very influential politicians.
When I went to college I majored in
political science with the hope of getting
into politics,” he says.
After college, he returned to Clarksville
to run the family restaurant business and
saw a lot of things he wanted to change in
the town, so he decided to run for mayor.
The election was somewhat of a David
versus Goliath event, as the incumbent
mayor had been in office for 16 years with
little or no opposition, says Roberts.
“The first time I ran, in 1972, I lost by
nine votes,” he says. “But that inspired
me that it could be done, and I ran again
in 1974 and was elected, then re-elected
in 1976.”
Roberts counts among his
accomplishments in office the
improvement of bookkeeping and
financial accountability among city
employees, traffic and road improvements,
fluoridation of the town’s water supply,
and a continuing education program for
law enforcement officers.
In addition to his roles as president
of the Jaycees chapter and mayor of
Clarksville, Roberts worked to revitalize
the local Chamber of Commerce. “As
president I established its first office
and secured the area’s first national
B.A.S.S. (Bass Anglers Sportsman Society)
STEPS OF SERVICE
H. Wayne Roberts revisits the path of volunteerism
that led him to the 2017 PPAI Humanitarian Award
by
Jen Alexander
Wayne Roberts, right, receives
the Golden Eagle award from
Col. Ricky Rupp at McConnell
Air Force Base in Kansas.
“It’s been
particularly
gratifying to
witness the
impact of
volunteers
and what their
contributions
have meant
to those
organizations.”