PPB July 2021

Above: Mary Jo Tomasini congratulates Charles Duggan, II, MAS+ (center) on receiving the PPAI Distinguished Service Award during The PPAI Expo 2018. Danny Rosin, CAS (left), presented the award. Right: At The PPAI Expo 2018, Tomasini officially concludes her term as PPAI chair of the board by passing the gavel to Incoming Chair Dale Denham, MAS+. Owned Business inMichigan and the Michigan Outstanding Women’s Business Enterprise of the Year, and DiversityBusiness. com added the distributor to its Top 500Women-Owned Business in the U.S. listing. “When you’re in that entrepreneurial phase, you are definitely very nimble, and I guess you never stop being nimble,” says Tomasini. “It’s been a great evolution, becoming a small business.” Tomasini says she was “joyfully humbled” when she found out she was PPAI’s 2021Woman of Achievement recipient. “I was happy and honored, but the first thing I thought of were the other women who were nominated,” she says, adding that she’s grateful to be in their company and blessed that her peers think so highly of her. “I also thank God that I am alive to enjoy this award as it’s been an It's AWonderful Life experience. So many people have reached out to me since being named to tell me the difference I have made in their lives and they’ve shared somany stories about things I have done or said that made a difference to them. I never knew about most of these. It’s been truly touching.” Tomasini’s entrance into the promotional products industry was a slow and deliberate transition, but she says she quickly fell head over heels for everything the industry represents. “One of the things that I loved was the breadth of the industry, and 30 years ago, it wasn’t near what it is today,” she says. “I love the complexity of it, and I love the challenge of finding something that is amazing and going to achieve the objectives of my client. I also realized, early on, that I had a talent for being nimble enough to be one minute working on pens and the next, working on some complicated promotion. I think that takes a different kind of person tomake that transition.” For Tomasini, being an industry advocate has meant contributing at a high level as a volunteer and mentor. “I have always felt that it’s important to give back,” she says. “I really believe that a rising tide lifts all ships and I feel like it’s my job to do what I can to lift people up. I love to help people.” She has served on several PPAI advisory and action groups, committees and councils, and was a member of the Association’s Board of Directors in 2014-2019, including a term as board chair in 2017. Through her service opportunities, Tomasini has learned that leadership is about more than what you know. “I’ve evolved as a leader by learning on the job,” she says. “There are certain things you don’t know until you have to navigate through them. Leading over the past 30 years, I have learned that leadership is more about strategy and being willing to try different things.” Tomasini is also active in her regional association, having served on several Michigan Promotional Professionals Association’s (MiPPA) committees and volunteer groups. She was inducted into MiPPA’s Hall of Fame in 2020. As a member of PPAI’s Government Relations Advisory Council in 2015-2020, Tomasini met numerous times with state and federal law makers in Lansing, Michigan, and Washington, D.C., to represent the promotional products industry. Having learned how to launch and also operate her own promo business from the ground up, Tomasini loves to save others from enduring the same “perilous” trials she’s experienced. “When she first applied for certification withWomen’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) in 2000, the process was long, detail-oriented and arduous,” says PaulaWygonik, MAS, president of CE Competitive Edge, and Tomasini’s nominator. “Mary Jo was a pioneer in learning the process and completing each step. As WBENC interest and applications grew, Mary Jo was the first on the western side of Michigan to sign up as a mentor for those following in her path. She has beenmentoring women who are applying for WBENC certification for nearly 20 years.” Tomasini adds, “My journey as an entrepreneur and passionate volunteer in this industry might not have happened without the generous assistance fromothers who have helped andmentored me along the way. In turn, I’monly too glad to help others. It’s beenmy | JULY 2021 | 69 THINK