PPB May 2018

Mi t ch Rhodus M itch Rhodus is a giver. As the owner of WIT Promo, an affiliate of HALOBranded Solutions, Rhodus is well-known in the promotional products industry for his service on the board of the Tri-State Promotional Products Association, and on the PPAI Government Relations Action Committee . He has been a prominent industry representative at PPAI’s Legislative Education And Action Day inWashington, D.C. every year, and his personal relationship with former House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has elevated the Association’s exposure and influence on Capitol Hill. An industry veteran, Rhodus began his career in the promotional products industry in 1988. He became interested in the industry while purchasing promotional items for GE, his employer at the time. He made the decision to join ESKO, Inc., which was then sold to HALO. The move gave Rhodus and his team the back office, supplier and IT support that they needed, and he’s never looked back. Rhodus is passionately engaged in his local community of Fairfield, Ohio, where he was born and raised. Through his involvement with the Fairfield Rotary Club, he has been donating overruns, misprints and samples tomedical mission trips for years. Nine years ago, he decided to take amore hands-on approach. What made you decide to join amedical mission toHaiti? I was making donations for medical trips through a friend of mine who is a doctor. He repeatedly told me, “People come to our clinics for your samples, and while they are there, we save their lives.” After the earthquake in 2010, 300,000 Haitians lost their lives, and the humanitarian need was enormous. My friend askedme to join himon the trip, and I fell in love with the people of Haiti. I realized just how desperate they are for basicmedical attention, and if our industry could help in any way, I wanted to be a part of it. What is your role on the medical team? There are 18 people on the team: four doctors, four nurses, one pharmacist and seven other [untrained] people like me. After the first year, I offered to take over the logistics of leading the group, so I don’t even carry a Band-Aid. What is the itinerary for each trip? We visit a different village each day over five days. The villages are located up in the mountains where there is no access to clean Every year, Mitch Rhodus leads a team of volunteers who do heavy lifting. by Terry Ramsay We’re Going To Need A Bigger Backpack 76 | MAY 2018 | CONNECT “I fell in love with the people of Haiti. I realized just how desperate they are for basic medical attention, and if our industry could help in any way, I wanted to be a part of it.” —Mitch Rhodus