PPB November 2021

What’s Happening Inside PPAI This Month P. 87 PPAI Board of Directors Welcomes Three New Members P. 88 PPAI Names Its 2022 Icon Award Recipients P. 90 Canadian Distributor Is Guest On Latest PPAI PromoTalks P. 91 Readers Speak Out On Email Pet Peeves, Labor Shortages Compiled by James Khattak Chris Anderson, Denise Taschereau AndMelissa Ralston Join PPAI Board In the Association’s recent board election, the PPAI membership approved the slate consisting of Chris Anderson, CEO of Braintree, Massachusetts-based supplier HPG, and Denise Taschereau, co-founder and CEO of Vancouver, British Columbia-based distributor Fairware Promotional Products. They begin their four-year terms on the PPAI Board of Directors in January 2022. Melissa Ralston, chief revenue officer for Tampa, Florida-based supplier Koozie Group, has been appointed for a two-year, at-large director position. Chris Anderson joined the promotional products industry in 2002 with supplier HandStands and became president of the company in 2009 and CEO in 2010. Under his leadership, HandStands expanded its distribution into 138 countries and closedmultiple strategic acquisitions, including the sale of the business to HPG in 2018. Anderson became CEO of HPG in 2019. Denise Taschereau launched Fairware after realizing how difficult it was to source promotional merchandise that reflected the social and environmental priorities of themany brands and organizations she admired. Previously, Taschereau oversaw theMountain Equipment Co-op’s national environmental programs, community grant-making and ethical sourcing programs, and wrote their award-winning first Sustainability Report. She is currently a boardmember of PromoCares, an industry group driving awareness and education around sustainability issues in the promotional products industry. Ralston has been in the promotional products industry for more than 15 years with global leadership roles across marketing, product management, sourcing and sales. In addition to her roles with two different promotional products suppliers, she has worked inmultiple industries and served on multiple boards. She currently sits on a distributor’s diversity and inclusion board and is the executive sponsor for Koozie Group’s “Keep It. Give It.” Social Impact & Sustainability Task Force. The board of directors is the governing body for PPAI and plays amajor role in directing its strategic activities, adopting policies and approving budgets to carry out the work of the Association. Chris Anderson Denise Taschereau Melissa Ralston NTL studio / Shutterstock.com | NOVEMBER 2021 | 87 CONNECT