PPB December 2018

PPAI Board Approves New Membership Qualification Criteria At Fall Meeting The PPAI Board of Directors held its fall meeting on October 15 in conjunction with the annual PPAI Leadership Development Workshop in Grapevine, Texas. Incoming directors Renée Jones, MAS and Bill Mahre, who were elected to the board in October, and Amy Rabideau, MAS, who was recently appointed as RAC delegate to the board, also participated in the meeting with a voice but no vote. Chair Dale Denham, MAS+ presided over the agenda that included a financial review, an update on the certification program, a report on the Association’s bylaws, policies and procedures and governance, and a trade show update. Among actions taken, the board discussed and approved a proposal to change the membership qualification process to reflect a point system based on the criteria of each membership type. Lindsey Davis, MAS, president of the Regional Association Council, gave a brief overview of the 2018 activities of the RAC board and Heidi Reimer-Epp and Jonathan Strauss of Promotional Products Association of Canada, reported on the association’s current initiatives and projects. The board also heard from Shelley Saner with McKinley Advisors who presented survey results of a membership dues structure study along with three alternative dues models for consideration. No action was recommended at this time. Board members were treated to a presentation from Haluk Kulin, senior vice president of data and strategy at FreemanXP, who reviewed the importance of benchmarking data to improve member experiences at trade shows. From left: Renée Jones, MAS; Bill Mahre and Amy Rabideau, MAS, who will join the PPAI board after The PPAI Expo 2019, participated in the Association’s October board meeting. A Trio Of New Programs To Debut At The PPAI Expo 2019 The PPAI Expo, the promotional products industry’s largest and longest-running trade show, returns to the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 13-17. And Expo 2019 will be no exception to the show’s tradition of offering attendees new, innovative ways to learn about the latest and most exciting products, develop their professional skills and expand their industry knowledge. Expo 2019 introduces a unique educational opportunity for a limited number of PPAI members with the Next-Level Professional Development workshops. Learn from Sales & Marketing Executives International, a global sales and marketing professional association, and the American Marketing Association, the largest chapter-based marketing association in the world, as they focus on sales and buying decisions, and the latest trends in social media, metrics, branding and overall marketing strategies. Held Thursday, January 17, 12 – 6 pm, the two three-hour workshops include a complimentary lunch and a cash bar reception afterwards. To get on the invite list, contact certification@ppai.org. The Learning Labs, debuting at Expo 2019, focus on hands-on, experience-oriented education, and will be offered January 13-15. Topics include an introduction to screen- printing, experiential marketing and the opportunity for participants to bring their own laptops and work with instructors on updating their Facebook and LinkedIn business accounts. Free professional headshots will also be available for each participant. Attendees must register for the sessions before they are onsite at Expo. Registration can be found at expo.ppai.org. Also new in 2019 are the Connection Corner roundtable discussions at Expo. To be held on Monday, January 14, the discussions will cover corporate responsibility, incentives and recognition program best practices, and trends in the industry. Participants will be able to discuss what they are seeing or catch up on new emerging ideas with up to 250 of their peers. Along with new education opportunities, Expo 2019 debuts the 1st-Time Exhibitor Pavilion for attendees on the lookout for new suppliers. To help identify the newest entries on a show floor of more than 900,000 square feet, the 1st-Time Exhibitor Pavilion, on aisles 6700 and 6800, will house companies making their PPAI Expo debut. While not big enough to house all first-time exhibitors, it gives industry pros a head start on their search for new products, new suppliers and new partners. The 1st-Time Exhibitor Pavilion will be open Tuesday 9:30 am - 5 pm, Wednesday 9:30 am - 5 pm and Thursday 9:30 am - 2 pm. 98 | DECEMBER 2018 | CONNECT