New PPAI Board Members | Must Read MEET THE NEW BOSSES, same as the old bosses – or so we can hope, at least. The volunteers joining the PPAI Board of Directors in 2024 have some big shoes to fill. Departing the board following The PPAI Expo in January were several leaders who helped guide your Association through some crucial years. Dawn Olds, MAS, now retired from HALO, helped see PPAI through the pandemic, and her term as board chair led up to a return to normalcy at The PPAI Expo 2023. Melissa Ralston (Koozie Group) served two years as an at-large director that were defined by important board decisions on key investments as PPAI worked to scale back up and pursue its new mission and vision. Joining the two of them for his second stint on the board in an abbreviated replacement term, Tom Goos, MAS, of Image Source offered a steadying presence in deliberations such as the recent membership restructuring, and lent his experience to projects vital to the organization’s staff culture. On an individual level, they’re irreplaceable. And yet this year’s three new directors – plus one former director returning to the board – will do what Olds, Ralston and Goos once did, stepping in for people who helped guide the industry to its current stature. PPAI has undergone much the same process continually since its founding in 1903. Remaining in place to guide them is Board Chair Andrew Spellman, CAS, of Therabody, who will take counsel from Immediate Past Chair Kevin Walsh, CAS, of Showdown Displays. Denise Taschereau of Fairware Promotional Products is chair-elect of the board this year, and Chris Anderson of HPG rounds out the officers as vice chair, finance services. Returning also are Karie Cowden, MAS, of Connect the Dots Promotions, Dan Pantano of alphabroder and Kara Keister, MAS, of Social Good Promotions, the board’s Regional Relations Committee Delegate. PPAI • APRIL 2024 • 41
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