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A Message From Our PPAMidwest President......
PPAMidwest Members,
Apparently, Mariah Carey says “It’s Time” for the holiday season. I’m not entirely buying it, but I hope that you are all looking forward to the excitement and joy ahead in the coming weeks. And hopefully collecting huge returns on holiday orders!
November is a big month of planning for your Board of Directors. On November 1st, the entire board met all day in Columbia, MO to review our current standing, plan for next year, approve the slate of new Directors and elect your new Board Officers for 2025. I am excited about what the Board has in store for our members next year and I hope that you have taken the time to cast your vote for the approved slate of directors. I was a bit saddened though that we again had to cancel a social event in the St. Louis area due to lack of interest. The annual Pickleball tournament in KC has become one of our most popular events, so I was surprised to see that so few registered in St. Louis. In order to effectively plan the best opportunities to network and engage with fellow members, we really need feedback from you. Tell us what events you would like to see, when you would prefer they occur, etc. Hold nothing back! The perfect time to talk with your Board is at our upcoming annual membership meeting and holiday parties on December 4th and 5th. We will be waiting to hear from you all.
Don’t forget to mark your calendars:
- The return of our Pickleball Tournament this Fall. Now only in Kansas City on November 13th at Chicken N Pickle in Overland Park, KS. Registration is still open.
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Holiday Parties and Annual Membership Meetings - Wednesday December 4th in St. Louis and Thursday December 5th in Kansas City. Full details have been emailed our and registration is open at www.ppam.org.
I am so thankful for all of you as we head towards this Thanksgiving season. I hope each of you will be able to spend time with family and friends and enjoy a bit of holiday respite. As always please reach out directly to me with your comments, questions, or just to chat. I can be reached via email at dennis.oglesby@go2partners.com.
Yours in Service,
Dennis Oglesby, MAS
2024 PPAMidwest President
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November 12, 2024 Tuesday Learning Lab: “CONNECT: Distributor Marketing Tools"
Learn about CONNECT, a tool powered by PromoCorner offering a comprehensive collection of distributor tools designed to help you run your business at a fraction of the time and cost of doing it yourself. Distributors will learn how to customize suppliers' flyers and catalogs or build customized catalogs with a few easy clicks.
Learning Outcomes:
- Understand the Value of Email Marketing: Learn why email marketing remains the most cost-effective form of direct advertising and how PromoDirect's system provides easy, automated solutions to boost sales conversions.
- Master the PromoDirect Email Marketing System: Gain the ability to set up and customize both automated and manual email broadcasts using the user-friendly, point-and-click functionality of PromoDirect.
- Leverage Automated Content and Special Offers: Discover how PromoSaver can keep your website updated with real-time offers and promotions, enhancing your site's appeal to clients and prospects.
- Explore PromoPages and FindaPC: Understand how to use PromoPages for creating customizable digital catalogs, and how the FindaPC system connects you with potential leads through an online directory of promotional consultants.
Read more and register
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Join your fellow PPAMidwest friends at our
November Social.....Pickleball with PPAMidwest!
Mark your calendars and join us for a great time TOMORROW with some friendly competition. Pickleball isn't your thing? No worries....come on out for a little networking and a great time!
Pre-registration is NOT required but appreciated so that we will have an approximate head count. No experience required for this fun event but make sure to come sporty as we will be playing various outdoor games with prizes awarded in each city.
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5 - 6pm: On Site Tournament Registration where brackets will be developed and instruction provided. No need to find a "team" as we will place you with a teammate on site.
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6-8pm: Pickleball tournament with prizes awarded
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No Charge for PPAMidwest members to attend! Monetary contributions welcome on site for our PPAMidwest Scholarship Fund which is awarded annually to family members of PPAMidwest.
To RSVP to attend, click here
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November 20, 2024 Wild Wednesday Webinar: “Is Growth by Acquisition a Good Option for Your Distributorship?”
We all know companies who have grown through acquisitions – some very successful, but many not. In this session, we’ll discuss the pros and cons of acquisitions, the special considerations for promotional products distributors, and how to evaluate whether this is a good option for you. Then we’ll go step-by-step through the entire acquisition process from A-Z.
Learning Outcomes:
- Six important questions to help you determine if acquisitions are a good option for you.
- The role of buyer reps and how to decide whether to work with one.
- The role of an attorney and CPA in the acquisition process.
- Guidance for NDAs and handling competitive information.
- Where to find prospective acquisition targets and different ways to approach them.
- Once a prospect shows interest, what information should you ask for?
- How to determine if the prospect meets your objectives and the value of the business.
- How to develop an offer strategy.
- The role of the term sheet and critical provisions to include.
- The typical deal documents and their role
Read more and register
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Enjoy a fun evening out with industry friends as
we mingle, network and enjoy the holiday season
We're having a social in both St. Charles and Overland Park, so please
choose your city, mark your calendar and make plans to attend.
12/4/24 - St. Charles Holiday Party
- 5:30 - 6:30pm: Meet at Llyweln's Pub for cocktails and appetizers
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6:30 - 8:30pm - We will be participating as a group in the St. Charles Holiday Traditions "A Christmas Carol" Stroll where we will follow the path through the historic district as the plot of the holiday classic "A Christmas Carol" unfolds. Click here for more details on this unique experience.
- Event includes 2 drink tickets and light fare
- No Charge for PPAMidwest members and their guest!
12/5/24 - Overland Park Holiday Party
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5:30 - 8:30pm: Meet at Elixir Space (previously the Wine Bunker located right next door to Rock & Brews) to enjoy games, music, networking and a great time!
- Event includes 2 drink tickets and light fare
- No Charge for PPAMidwest members and their guest!
In the spirit of the holiday season, we will be collecting donations at both socials for our PPAMidwest Scholarship fund. PPAMidwest has partnered with PPEF to offer a one year scholarship each year to all staff of PPAMidwest member companies or their children who are high school seniors or college undergraduates. PPEF takes all of the applications, reviews, verifies and makes a recommendation for a recipient which will be announced after the application period closes on March 15th. Please consider donating to this wonderful cause.
We look forward to celebrating the season with you!
Register to attend here
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SAVE THE DATES
For PPAMidwest's 2025 Shows!!
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Where Quality Suppliers Meet Quality Distributors
and Get Quality Results!
Our annual Spring Product Premiere will be held in St. Louis on 3/11/25 and then in
Kansas City on 3/13/25. We will also be hosting a social on 3/12/25 so that you may mingle and network with your PPAMidwest friends/customers the evening before the show.
This is not an end buyer event.
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SAGE honors top industry suppliers and decorators with A+ and A Rating Awards based on distributor ratings in SAGE Total Access
Plano, TX – SAGE is proud to once again recognize outstanding suppliers and decorators with its prestigious A+ and A rating awards, based on distributor ratings collected through SAGE Total Access.
This year, 942 companies earned the highly sought-after A+ rating, an increase of 5.25% from the prior year, while 180 companies were awarded an impressive A rating. Together, these top performing businesses represent 46% of all active Advantage and Decorator Members in the SAGE database. As part of SAGE’s partnership with PPAI, suppliers with A+ and A ratings are also eligible for the annual PPAI Supplier Star Awards.
“We are thrilled to acknowledge and celebrate our supplier and decorator partners who
consistently exceed expectations, delivering exceptional service and upholding the highest
standards of quality and integrity in our industry,” said Dana Porter, MAS, SAGE’s Vice President of Information Services.
Recognized for its comprehensive and reliable supplier reviews, the SAGE rating system gives distributors the tools to make well-informed decisions by providing access to valuable data. Distributors can view a supplier or decorator’s real-time ratings and comments through SAGE Online and SAGE Web, along with a detailed summary of any awards and industry accolades.
Distributors can submit ratings through SAGE Total Access or via a “Rate Us” link provided by suppliers and decorators, scoring factors such as customer service, delivery, and problem resolution, along with leaving detailed feedback. Each company can only be rated once by a distributor, but ratings can be updated at any time to reflect ongoing experiences, ensuring accuracy.
Award-winning companies will receive marketing materials to promote their A+ or A-rated
status, including logos for use in catalogs, websites, and email signatures.
Click here to view the complete lists
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Hit Promo To Build 800,000-Square-Foot Facility in Ohio
Largo, FL – Hit Promotional Products is at the starting line of a planned expansion project that will double its distribution center footprint at a strategic location in the Midwest. The move will double the Counselor Top 40 supplier’s footprint in the Buckeye State and generate 100 new jobs while helping the firm to better serve customers, executives said.
The firm plans to build a 800,000-square-foot facility in Fairfield, OH, part of the greater Cincinnati region. Hit already leases a 400,000-square-foot space in the area but will own the new state-of-the-art location.
“We aim to diversify our footprint into a larger facility in the center of the country,” said Hit CEO CJ Schmidt. “We also want to own our building. The new facility will help Hit best serve customers as we see the need to expand in the future” Schmidt added. The CEO cautioned that it’s early days on the building project and that Hit will continue operating from its leased facility for the time being. “We’re a long way out” from the new building opening.
Read more here
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DID YOU KNOW?....
PPAMidwest members can automatically see Free Setup coupons
and more than 100+ supplier websites with PromoHunt?
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That's right -- just install the free PromoHunt browser extension, and then PPAMidwest coupons, Supplier phone numbers, and other helpful details will
appear automatically at the bottom of supplier website pages.
Sign Up For Free
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2025 PPAI Icon Award Recipients | |
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PPAI Announces 2025 Icon Award Recipients
PPAI has announced the recipients of its 2025 Icon Awards, which celebrate the accomplishments of those who have gone above and beyond in service to the promotional products industry, the Association and their communities. The Icon Award winners include two PPAI Hall of Fame inductees, two Distinguished Service Award recipients and one H. Ted Olson Humanitarian Award recipient.
This year’s honors are being bestowed on:
- PPAI Hall of Fame: Jonathan Isaacson, MAS
- PPAI Hall of Fame: Mark Jenkins, MAS+
- PPAI Distinguished Service Award: Danny Sirmon, MAS
- PPAI Distinguished Service Award: D’Anna Zimmer, CAS
- H. Ted Olson Humanitarian Award: Joy Smith, MAS
Read More Here
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Hybrid Workers Were Put to the Test Against Fully In-Office Employees - Here's Who Came Out On Top
Sherin Shibu • Entrepreneur Staff • News Reporter at Entrepreneur.com
Productivity barely changed whether employees were in the office or not. However, hybrid workers reported better job satisfaction than in-office workers.
When Amazon CEO Andy Jassy mandated that workers return to the office full-time in January, he said working in the office five days a week would strengthen the company's culture and better connect teams.
And while Amazon's internal research showed that it was easier to strengthen work culture while in person, a new study published in the scientific journal Nature found that hybrid work may actually have a slight advantage over in-person work — and drive positive, measurable outcomes.
Data from the six-month experiment revealed "no differences in productivity, performance review grade, or promotion" between the two groups, the study's authors wrote in an article last week for the Harvard Business Review. Instead, a hybrid schedule led to measurable improvements in quit rates and job satisfaction.
"We found that hybrid working improved job satisfaction and reduced quit rates by one-third," they elaborated in their research paper, published in June. "The reduction in quit rates was significant for non-managers, female employees, and those with long commutes."
Read More
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Band Together Raises Money for Hurricane Relief | |
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Band Together Charity Raises $1.1 Million For Hurrican Relief
Band Together, a volunteer-driven nonprofit co-founded by Danny Rosin, CAS, president and co-owner of North Carolina-based distributor Brand Fuel, recently raised $1.1 million for hurricane relief efforts with a concert and telethon.
All proceeds from the “Music for the Mountains” concert – headlined by Old Crow Medicine Show – will directly benefit the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, providing critical resources to communities struggling to rebuild after the devastation of Hurricane Helene.
“Community issues deserve community responses and when Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina, Band Together and its partners responded,” says Rosin. “Thanks to bands that played for free and amazing supplier partners, $1.1 million was raised through a concert and telethon in just three and a half weeks! I’m proud to be a part of the work and to be a North Carolinian. Where there is merch and music, there is unity.”
Band Together, which has been using live music as a platform for social change since 2001, partnered with Lincoln Theatre, WRAL and Red Hat Amphitheater to organize the event.
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