AUGUST 2019 
Upcoming Events
August 20 
Nosh & Knowledge Sponsored by BIC Graphic
Brix Sports Bar & Grill
8675 Pulaski Hwy
Baltimore, MD 21237


August 21
Nosh & Knowledge Sponsored by BIC Graphic
Matchbox
1699 Rockville Place
Rockville, MD 20852


August 22
Webinar At Your Desk
12:30  PM
How To Streamline Your Orders; Writing A Purchase Order Once!


Sept 5


CPPA Members.....Are you taking advantage of your Member Benefits?

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CPPA Members save 10% on SAGE Products

CPPA Members can save 20-25% on Constant Contact Accounts

Make sure you maximize your membership with us by utilizing member only benfits like those listed above.
CPPA News
CPPA Call for Education Proposals

CPPA provides an educational platform for its members, industry partners, and consultants to participate in knowledge sharing opportunities throughout the year.  We are beginning to plan for our 2020 Program Calendar and looking for education proposals for a variety of formats including webinars, panel discussions, and in-person education.  We are looking for you to share your knowledge with a respected audience of promotional product professionals across the country.

Before you submit your proposal please be mindful of the following:
  • We are not looking for sales proposals but educational proposals focused on variety of subjects including but not limited to: decoratives, incentives, marketing and advertising, industry development, product responsibility, sales strategies, technology, management, executive leadership, and social media.
  • All proposals must be submitted via email and sent to our coordinator at: [email protected].
  • All proposals must be complete and include the following: name, company name, phone, email address, presentation title, description, and 3-5 learning objectives.
  • Please include who your target audience will be (i.e. distributors, suppliers, multi-line representatives, specific demographic, etc.)
  • Please include to whom the presentation is geared for regarding experience level (i.e. industry experience, new to entry, experienced, etc.)
  • Please include if you have made this presentation before and to whom.
  • Please include if your presentation is interactive and whether it will challenge the audience.  
All proposals shall be submitted by Friday, August 23 if possible
American Solutions for Business Announces Sarah Louden as Executive Director of HR
 
Glenwood, MN  -  American Solutions for Business is happy to introduce Sarah Louden as Executive Director of Human Resources. Sarah joins ASB from the Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota area where she was the Senior Vice President of People, Talent & Change at Supervalu, Inc., a grocery retail and supply chain service across the United States. She began her career with them in 2007 as an HR Business Partner, gaining a wealth of knowledge and experience in the competencies of Human Resources throughout her 10 years with Supervalu.  
 
ASB's VP of Human Resources, Katie Hallstrom, will continue in her current role with Sarah working alongside her in leading the HR/Payroll teams, managing the day-to-day activities and developing value-added programs for American.

" We're excited by the experience and enthusiasm Sarah brings to American as we continue to grow as a leading distributor in our industry ," said Justin Zavadil, ASB President. "We're confident that she will be a perfect fit here."
   
BEST Promotions Promotes Jaclyn Lingo and Grant VanWinkle
 
Balch Springs, TX  -  BEST Promotions USA, a Hub Promotional Group Company, is pleased to announce the promotion of Jaclyn Lingo to National Sales Manager effective immediately. After graduating from Texas Tech University and joining Best, Jaclyn has worked in Customer Service, Order Processing, Inside Sales and, most recently, Outside Sales and Key Account Management.
 
Founder of BEST, Michael Hicks adds, "Jaclyn is the standard for what we expect in our culture and we are so pleased to have her take on this new role. Her work ethic, creativity, integrity and undying commitment to world-class service is a representation of who we are as a company."
 
BEST also announces the promotion of Grant VanWinkle, a University of Texas graduate, into Inside Sales and Business Development. Grant has served BEST in Production, Shipping, Graphics, Digital Printing, and Customer Service. Hicks adds, "Grant has been with us since the beginning (2007) and has helped us create our YES culture. He can not only do every job in the building but his heart-of-a-champion mindset and incredible commitment to service will make him a customer favorite. We can't wait to turn him loose with our growing customer base."
HUB Promotional Group Wins Big in Promo Marketing Supplier Excellence Awards
 
Braintree, MA  -  HUB Promotional Group,home to HUB Pen Company, Beacon Promotions, BEST Promotions USA, Cooler Graphics, Debco, BCG Creations, Origaudio and HandStands, has been named a top supplier by distributors voting in the 2019 Promo Marketing Supplier Excellence Awards. 
  • HUB Pen was voted the top Writing Instruments supplier, awarding them the Gold award.
  • Beacon Promotions was awarded the Gold for Flashlights and Socks, and the Silver status for Calendars.
  • Origaudio was awarded the Gold for Electronics and Powerbanks.
  • Handstands was awarded the Gold for Automotives and Tools.
"Prior to becoming part of the HUB Promotional Group
, each of the individual brands were award winners in their own right," says HUB Promotional Group CEO Chris Anderson.
 
"It is especially rewarding to see our strategy of building on this heritage pay off with such widespread accolades for our family of brands, and the HPG enterprise, alike!" says Anderson. "We are committed to being the hardgoods supplier of choice in the North American promotional products industry, and this commitment is clearly striking a chord with distributors."

CHOCOLATE INN| LANCO Adds Contract Printing Services
 
Hicksville, NY  -  Chocolate Inn| Lanco has added contract printing services to its roster of customization capabilities and products for the promotional products industry.
 
These new services, offered under the name Lanco Contract Printing Services (ASI Decorator: 738101), will provide the most complex and most requested decorating processes, including vibrant multi-colored screen printing, 3D embroidery, specialty inks like glitter, metallic and glow-in-the-dark; heat transfers (including full color sublimation), glitter and rhinestone embellishments, pad printing, and DTG (direct to garment) printing.
 
Those promotional product distributors looking for assistance with the look of their projects will have access to the Lanco Printing's experienced and creative team of graphic designers. Customers can supply their own apparel or take advantage of the company's "One Invoice Solution" where Lanco Printing will purchase the goods to be customized as well as decorate.
 
All decorating processes will take place in Chocolate Inn | Lanco's 100,000 square foot Ronkonkoma facility, which will help to keep projects on schedule and help ensure print quality. This also allows Lanco Printing to have a quicker turnaround on projects.
 
"As our contract decorating services expanded and the requests from our distributor client base for such services grew exponentially, we made a decision to add a standalone brand and robust website dedicated exclusively to these services," said David Miller president of Chocolate Inn | Lanco. 

For more information on Lanco Printing's contract decorator services, visit lancoprinting.com, or call, 800-526-3437.
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Industry News
PPB Service Superheroes
Nomination Period Is Now Open

Th e nomination period for Service Superheroes is now open. Customer service representatives play a vital role in supporting the success of any organization. Service superheroes go above and beyond the line of duty to provide the best customer experience possible.
 
If you know a Service Superhero-in your company or a vendor company-who proves great service does still exist,  PPB  magazine wants to hear about them.
Nominate your Service Superhero by August 27.


I ndividuals selected will be featured in the November PPB magazine. All nominees must be affiliated with a PPAI member company and may not be a  previous honoree .  Deadline for nominations is August 27, 2019.
Professional Development
Simplifying The PPAI Certification Process 
By now you've probably noticed the various acronyms behind industry professionals' names. PPAI offers a professional certification program for all stages of your career: Trained Advertising Specialist (TAS) certificate, Certified Advertising Specialist (CAS) certification, Master Advertising Specialist (MAS) certification and Master Advertising Specialist Plus (MAS+) certification.

Recently, PPAI updated the TAS, CAS and MAS programs to better engage and support you in your pursuit of professional development. The simplified process now allows you to take a five-question quiz after each dedicated course you attend. There are no lengthy tests and no project requirements necessary to submit your certification application.

As an all-inclusive, industry-wide program for all stages of your career, PPAI Certification is a program you can customize to fit your needs. Here's a peek at the revised programs:
  • TAS Certificate - 4.5 dedicated courses
  • CAS Certification - 26 dedicated courses and 25 elective courses
  • MAS Certification - CAS designation + 15 dedicated courses and 35 elective courses
 
A revised MAS+ program will launch Tuesday, August 6, as well. If you have any questions about the programs, the requirements or certification in general, please email [email protected].
5 Body Language Cues Entrepreneurs Should Pay Attention to in Any Meeting
David Neagle  * Guest Writer  *  Entrepreneur
 
Sometimes body language can speak louder than words.
  
Product Responsibility Summit 2019
September 15-17 · Alexandria, Virginia · The Westin Alexandria
This Is A Trip Worth Taking 
The 2019 PPAI Product Responsibility Summit is heading to Alexandria, Virginia, September 15-17. Industry and compliance experts facilitate Summit education so every session is geared to your needs. Understanding the importance of product responsibility in today's economy can help differentiate your business from your competition.
Attendees will earn MAS-level credits and receive a Product Responsibility Resource Manual - a treasure trove of information whose value exceeds the cost of attendance. This year's Summit will include sessions on Prop 65, challenges of being a compliance officer, sourcing beyond China, intellectual property and much more.
 
Bonus this year: Free Wednesday tours of the CPSC testing lab and Patent Museum.