Community | Inside PPAI Majority Of Promo Regional Associations Now PPAI Business Service Members EARLIER THIS YEAR, PPAI proposed that regional associations join PPAI as business service members. Since then, more regionals have officially aligned with PPAI while gaining the benefits that come with membership. Joining the initial regional associations to accept the proposal – Michigan Promotional Professionals Association (MiPPA), Special Advertising of California (SAAC) and PPAChicago – are the following: • Caribbean Advertising Specialties Association (CASA) • Georgia Association of Promotional Products Professionals (GAPPP) • Northwest Promotional Marketing Association (NWPMA) • Promotional Products Association Southwest (PPAS) • Tri-State Promotional Professionals Association (TSPPA) • Upper Midwest Association of Promotional Products (UMAPP) • Virginia Promotional Products Association (VAPPA) • Gulf Coast Promotional Products Association (GCPPA) • Sun Belt Promotional Products Association (SPPA) • Promotional Products Association of the MidSouth (PPAMS) • Chesapeake Promotional Products Association (CPPA) • Promotional Products Association of the Midwest (PPAM) • Carolinas Association of Advertising and Marketing Professionals (CAAMP) • Arizona Promotional Products Association (AzPPA) • Rocky Mountain Region Promotional Products Association (RMRPPA) This brings the total number of regional associations joining PPAI (as of June) over two thirds of existing regional associations since the proposal extending membership eligibility went out earlier this year. These groups account for more than half of the promo industry’s 26 regional associations. The goal of PPAI’s proposal is to create ongoing alignment between PPAI and the regional associations while creating pathways for PPAI to help strengthen each region they represent. Membership costs regional associations an annual fee and will come with a long list of benefits, as well as a regional rewards program. “The idea of transitioning from the regional affiliate program to regional associations becoming members of PPAI is designed to lessen the red tape involved in and encourage more thoughtful collaboration between PPAI and the 26 regional associations,” says Kara Keister, MAS, Regional Relations Committee delegate to the PPAI Board of Directors and promise keeper at distributor Social Good Promotions. L.E.A.D. Brings Promo’s Message Back To Capitol Hill THE PROMO INDUSTRY RETURNED to Capitol Hill in person in June for the first time since 2019. The 2023 PPAI Legislative Education and Action Day (L.E.A.D.) brought together more than 60 promotional products professionals on June 7 to spend the day in a series of meetings with legislators and their staff to make connections and educate them on the industry and key issues. Through more than 80 meetings, L.E.A.D. participants informed lawmakers on the promo industry – a $25 billion market that employs half 106 • JULY 2023 • PPAI
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