which allows distributors to display a virtual 3D model of SnugZ products within the ambient environment around them on their smartphones. He’s also dedicated to helping people develop and nurture their own capabilities through mentorship. “I just have a real, burning platform for giving people opportunities, regardless of their backgrounds, and just helping to elevate them into a position they never thought they’d be qualified for,” he says. Outside of the industry, Mackay commits to helping those in need through partaking in humanitarian projects. He’s done service work in Nicaragua, which includes food and clothing gift drives for the holiday season, and he’s built schools in underserved communities in Bolivia and Peru. He also inspired his four children to carry on the cycle of goodness that he learned from his own parents. All of them have participated in hands-on humanitarian projects, he says, from shorter ones to longer, three-week efforts abroad. “It’s priceless time that we’ve had together,” Mackay says. “When you see an industry continue to expand, it is hard to ignore the people that laid out that path, and Brandon is one of those people. He learned from the SnugZ leaders before him,” says Kevin Felgate, CEO of Name Brand Promotions, a supplier in Boise, Idaho, and one of Mackay’s nominators. “In later years, Brandon and I would talk about the burden that all the travel has had on our families and our desire to make up for it. For me, most of that time was related directly to my job opportunities, but for Brandon, it was mostly to support the industry that his job was within. He has always said it is important to work on the industry as much as it is to work in it.” Mackay has previously been recognized in the industry for his contributions. In 2019, he received ASI’s Bess Cohn Humanitarian of the Year Award and in 2016, he was named a PPAI Fellow. When speaking about what the PPAI Distinguished Service Award means to him, Mackay finished with the same closing remarks he said at the award ceremony at The PPAI Expo. “I don’t think I’m done yet. I’ve got quite a ways to go—I think.” Renda is an associate editor at PPAI. Br andon Mackay | MARCH 2022 | 55 GROW
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