PPB November 2019

Carolyn Colwell (pictured with Jeff Rogers), president of supplier Your City Sports, shared what motivated her to form Your City Sports in 2013. The conversation with Roso (above left, with Rogers) at the TravelChair offices turned more towards the philosophies behind the company’s products. He and his wife bought the company from her parents. Roso says, “Fundamentally, we build a better mousetrap. It’s not rocket science, specifically, it’s an intent. We’re intentional about the rivets we use, the size of the holes the rivets go into and the specifications of the steel and the fabric. And we marry that with a quality control approach to how we manufacture it, who inspects it, the employees on the ground, and we put that all together. In a nutshell, we want to build something that’s going to last and that we’re proud of.” PPAI’s Tucker, Rogers Connect WithMembers InWashington State In October, Ellen Tucker, PPAI’s director of business development, and Jeff Rogers, account manager, were on the road visiting member companies in Washington State. On their journey, they met with Carolyn Colwell, president of supplier Your City Sports in Lynden, Washington, and Daniel Roso, vice president of sales and marketing at Gig Harbor supplier TravelChair, to learn more about their companies and their outlooks on the industry. Penn EmblemDonates Books To Support Local Literacy Programs In support of National Read A Book Day on September 6, Trevose, Pennsylvania-based supplier Penn Emblem donated books to Tree House Books, a giving library and literacy center in North Philadelphia, and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s (CHOP) Reach Out and Read Program. Both organizations share a mission of providing books to families and promoting literacy for all ages. Penn Emblem staff collected 220 gently used books at its corporate office. Randi Blumenthal-Joseph, president of Penn Emblem, says, “Reading and learning are two of my favorite things. It means so much to be able to give that joy to someone else, especially a child. I am so proud of this team coming together and giving back in this way. A book is such a small thing, but to the person reading it, that book can shape their world.” | NOVEMBER 2019 | 113 CONNECT