PPB February 2019

UMAPP’s Volunteer Event, Roundtable Discussion Brings Together Business Leaders, PPAI’s Bellantone PPAI President and CEO Paul Bellantone, CAE, joined the Upper Midwest Association of Promotional Professionals (UMAPP) in December for a community event, board dinner and roundtable breakfast discussion with members. Promo Expo Hosts 2018 Annual Holiday Party Promo Expo, a group of multi-line and supplier reps who share space and work together, brought industry distributors and suppliers together in December for the Burlington, Ontario, organization’s annual open house and holiday party. Promo Expo’s holiday party was also a celebration of Sally Piitz (center), who recently retired after 31 years in the industry. UMAPP’s Connect events bring members together throughout the year. Its December event brought together 14 members from industry supplier and distributor companies to pack food for Feed My Starving Children, a nonprofit organization providing nutritional meals for children across the globe. This was UMAPP’s fourth Connect event in 2018 and more than 100 members have participated. The breakfast roundtable Bellantone joined while with UMAPP drew owners and senior management from distributors, suppliers and multi-line rep firms, and featured a higher-level discussion about topics, including what is happening in the economy, employee issues, products and tariffs. Spurring on the conversation, he asked attendees about the best and worst things that had happened to their businesses in the past year and how PPAI can help them. | FEBRUARY 2019 | 71 CONNECT