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industry’s issues. “He is leading the
effort on healthcare reform and is a
tireless supporter for small business,”
adds Ness.
Devin Martin, account manager
at Advance Corporation in Minnesota,
joined Ness for a visit to the office of
Sen. John Thune (R-SD), and they met
with senior staff counsel Mark Warren.
Martin says, “He was very familiar with
our industry and the issues we are
talking about, having worked on the
CAMP bill a few years back.”
The border adjustment tax factored
into many of the conversations
L.E.A.D. delegates had while in D.C. Carrie
Laufenburg, MAS, director of key accounts
at The Magnet Group and attending L.E.A.D.
on behalf of TSPPA, visited with most of
the legislators representing the regional
association’s membership. She says, “When
discussing the border adjustment tax with
Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-KY) staff, they were
able to give examples of how other industries
would be negatively affected. They were the
only office to do this and they were also the
only office that seemed to have a full grasp
on the negative impacts to the consumer. I
then showed them the infographic PPAI
provided on the cost of a promotional
backpack before and after the proposed
tax. They were amazed at how much it would
affect items in our industry and appreciated
the research our group has put into this
proposed bill. Sen. Paul is against the tax
and recognizes the detriment it would do not
only for small businesses across the nation,
but also to the 392 promotional products
businesses in the state of Kentucky.”
Dan Reading, vice president at In
The Bag Promotions, visited several of his
Idaho officials as part of the delegation
from Northwest Promotional Marketing
Association. “It was a great start to L.E.A.D.
with a flurry of meetings with our senators
and representatives,” he says. “There was a
lot of buzz about the border adjustment tax,
but it died down a bit after President Trump’s
tax proposal was published. It is still an issue
we will talk about in our meetings, as these
things never seem to really go away.” Reading
said he was also surprised to see one of his
customer’s logos on another visitor’s business
card. “It was a logo of a company that we
did a t-shirt order for just last week!” he says.
“It made for a great opener to the power of
promotional products in my meeting.”
Before beginning Wednesday’s
afternoon appointments, L.E.A.D.
volunteers gathered for lunch and to
hear a presentation on tax reform and
small business by Paula Calimafde, a
partner at Paley Rothman in Bethesda,
Maryland, and chair of the Small
Business Council of America. The
next morning, as part of L.E.A.D. PPAI
recognized Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) as
its 2017 Legislator of the Year. Elected
in 2014, Peters was presented with the
award in appreciation of his history of
serving the needs of the promotional
products industry by encouraging economic
stability and growth through advocating for
small business, promoting manufacturing
and preserving jobs.
Dana Geiger, VAPPA executive director
who worked with both Team Virginia and
Team Maryland/Delaware this year, sums
up her efforts at the Capitol: “Year after
year, I am reminded of the importance of
continuing these conversations with our
legislators and increasing awareness about
the value of promotional advertising. With
tax reform at center stage, staff members
were very interested in our position on
the border adjustment tax as well as our
position on advertising expenditures and
how the proposed legislation could affect
our industry. The productive meetings
reinforced the fact that every voice truly
does make a difference.”
Pennsylvania team members with Rep. Ryan Costello (R-PA), center.
From left are Larry Whitney, Bruce Korn, Sharon Willochell, CAS, Charles
Machion and George Jackson.
Taking in the spectacular view from the Speaker’s Balcony (located off the Speaker of the
House’s office suite) are George Jackson; Sharon Willochell, CAS; Mary Jo Tomasini, MAS;
Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH; Mitch Rhodus; Brittany David, CAS, and Charlie Stevens, MAS.
Jeff Marks, Harold Wood, Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA)
and Craig Dickens discuss the issues.
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