Celebrating our 2025 PPAMidwest Scholarship Recipient

Supporting our members and their families is a top mission for PPAMidwest. The Board of Directors recognizes a strong need to focus on education as a top priority for supporting our members and our future. What better way to achieve this goal than by participating, in at least a small part, in the education of our future leaders!

We are pleased to celebrate the 2025 recipient of the PPAMidwest Scholarship, Adalyn Madl. Adalyn is the daughter of Amelia Madl, whose contributions to our industry and our regional are limitless. Adalyn was chosen directly from PPAI from a list of several qualified candidates who have ties to PPAMidwest. Here is what Adalyn had to say:

"Hi! I just wanted to say a huge thank you for this scholarship — I’m seriously so grateful. I’ll be heading to Wichita State University this fall, and while I haven’t totally decided on my major yet, I’m really excited to figure it out. This scholarship means a lot and will definitely help take some stress off as I start this next chapter. Thank you so much for your support! 💛 "

Go Shockers!

Adalyn Madl 

The PPAMidwest Scholarship is funded by member involvement and participation in our events and fundraisers. This is a long-term commitment that we hope to continue to be able to support for years to come. You can support this mission by attending our events, participating in raffles and other fundraisers, or with a cash contribution.

Please join the Board in congratulating Adalyn for this well deserved award.

Vantage Apparel Promotes Marci Newsom and Jeff Kranz to National Account Manager Roles

Avenel, NJ – Vantage Apparel proudly announces the promotion of Marci Newsom and Jeff Kranz to the position of National Account Manager.

With a combined 35 years of dedication to Vantage, Marci and Jeff bring deep industry expertise and proven leadership to their new roles. Marci Newsom has been with Vantage for 23 years and has most recently served as Regional Sales Manager for the Western Region. Jeff Kranz, who has been with the company for 12 years, most recently managed the Central Region in the same capacity.

In their new roles as National Account Managers, Marci and Jeff will be instrumental in deepening Vantage's relationships with key strategic national accounts. They will serve as the primary points of contact for their assigned customers, ensuring exceptional service, responsiveness, and strategic alignment with each client's business objectives. By understanding the unique needs and expectations of national partners, they will develop and execute customized growth plans that drive mutual success and expand Vantage’s presence across multiple business units and locations.

Marci Newsom will oversee national accounts including BAMKO, BDA, Boundless Network, Nadel, and Peernet. Jeff Kranz will lead national account relationships with Geiger, HALO, Proforma, and Staples.

“Marci and Jeff have consistently demonstrated a passion for customer success and a commitment to excellence,” said Sean Macilvain, Vice President of Business Development at Vantage Apparel. “Their promotions reflect not only their individual accomplishments but also Vantage’s continued investment in building strong, strategic partnerships with our national accounts.”

Goldstar Launches One Purchase Order Global Solution

San Diego, CA – Goldstar has come to market with SimplyGlobal, a new solution that enables distributors to place and manage orders across multiple geographic regions with just one PO.

Through SimplyGlobal, Goldstar now supports coordinated ordering across North America, Europe and Oceania. The service helps ensure consistent decoration, sizing and production standards while making it easier for distributors to scale globally through local production partners and streamlined logistics, Goldstar said.

The move comes as a growing number of distributors conduct business across national and continental borders to meet the needs of globally operating end-clients.

“SimplyGlobal is about empowering our partners to grow,” said Heather Smartt, global head of Goldstar and a member of Counselor’s Power 50 list of the promotional products industry’s most influential people. “By bringing everything together under one PO and one process, we’re making it easier than ever to do business globally, with confidence, consistency and simplicity.”

As part of the service, Goldstar is charging a flat €/$/£50 fee. “It helps cover the coordination across regions, while maintaining pricing that’s straightforward and easy to understand,” the company said, adding that it continues to offer all-inclusive pricing in most markets, covering setup, decoration and delivery.

S&S Activewear Becomes Exclusive Provider of Hanesbrands in Promo

Bolingbrook, IL – S&S Activewear recently announced that it will become the exclusive provider of Hanesbrands in the promotional products/screen-printing channel.

“We’re incredibly proud to deepen our relationship with Hanes, a brand that represents both heritage and reliability,” said Frank Myers, CEO of S&S Activewear and a member of Counselor’s Power 50 list of promo’s most influential people. “We’re in a better position than ever to bring more of Hanes’s trusted styles to more customers, more efficiently, while continuing to raise the bar on service.”

As part of the partnership, S&S Activewear will carry the full range of Hanes styles, including the durable and trending Beefy-T. S&S will offer what executives said is deeper inventory positions and enhanced availability across its national distribution network. Customers can also expect faster shipping and delivery windows for Hanes styles, as well as what the companies described as seamless ordering through the S&S website and service platform.

“This is more than an agreement – it’s an evolution of one of the industry’s most enduring relationships,” said Mike Faircloth, Hanesbrands’ president of global operations. “Hanes has been a foundational brand in print wear for decades. With S&S as our exclusive distributor, we’re doubling down on that legacy while positioning ourselves to lead in the next chapter of the market.”

Hanesbrands products won’t be immediately disappearing from the shelves of other suppliers. The partnership with S&S becomes fully operational on Dec. 31, 2025. “Customers may continue to purchase Hanes products from other distributors through the transition period,” the firms said in a statement.

S&S Activewear has made big moves in promo in the last 10 months. The firm recently integrated alphabroder, which it acquired last year. S&S also relaunched Prime Line as a standalone hard goods division. S&S has drawn attention for its use of advanced mobile robotics and automation in its distribution centers.



“As we continue to grow, our focus remains on supporting the industry’s most trusted brands,” said Myers. “We believe strong partnerships with manufacturers like Hanes are what drive value and progress for the industry and our customers.”

Don't Wait For Customers to Find You - Here's How to Go to Them Instead

Jordan Glazier • Entrepreneur Leadership Network Contributor • Founder & CEO of Wildfire Systems

In today's hyper-connected world, passive customer engagement is no longer enough — businesses must proactively deliver timely, relevant value within customers' existing digital journeys to truly stand out.

For years, online businesses, especially smaller ones, have followed a somewhat passive model of customer engagement. The site is live, and the digital storefront is effectively "open." The expectation is that customers will visit when their need arises, reacting to the demand created by external marketing.



This "wait and see" approach, while foundational, is becoming insufficient in a hyper-connected world where consumers are bombarded with messaging at every turn. Instead, the new model of customer engagement demands a shift from being reactive to actively meeting customers where they are, when they need it. This evolution, powered by new technologies, can be a game-changer, even for small startups lacking armies of development resources.

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