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Paul Lage
Company/Title: BIC Graphic USA, Global President - Business Development
Personal Bio: Worked 18 years in the industry with the two best suppliers, Gill Studios and BIC Graphic USA. Worked in the capacity of sales, marketing, general manager and now global. Served on PPAI Board for four years and currently serve as chairman. Served on numerous committees, including PPCEF, CAS/MAS, YESSA and Strategic Planning and Membership Services
Birthday: April 5, 1959
Marital Status: Married with two children
Hobbies: Golf, tennis, cards
Education: M.B.A
Favorite Food: BBQ
Favorite Movie: Airplane
Favorite Team: Kansas City Chiefs
Favorite Book: Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
Favorite Music: All kinds
Favorite Web Site: www.yahoo.com
Favorite Business Moment: Joining BIC Graphic USA and being empowered to make a difference. }
Biggest Inspiration/Most Influential Person: Too many to mention. Shortlist consists of my Dad, all successful people and all happy people.
Secret to My Success Quote: “Manage or be managed.”

Name: Bob Lederer
Company/Title: Prime Resources, President
Birthday: March 35, 1937
Marital Status: Married
Hobbies: Sports cars, biking, tennis, travel, gourmet dining, Scrabble
Education: Graduated from Bucknell University in 1959
Favorite Food: Thai, French, Chinese
Favorite Movie: Stalag 17 or High Society
Favorite Team: New York Yankees
Favorite Book: Compulsion by Keith Ablow
Favorite Music: Show tunes
Favorite Web Site: www.primeworld.com
Greatest Business Moment: 1988 Counselor Person of the Year or 2001 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year.
Biggest Inspiration/Most Influential Person: My former boss, Murray Gold.
Secret to My Success Quote: “Success is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration.” Also, as with the real estate mantra that the three most important things are “location, location and location,” the three most important things in our field are “service, service and service.”

Name: Douglas R. Lenger
Company/Title: Visions Awards/Awardcraft, Vice President of Sales & Marketing
Personal Bio: Born in St. Louis, Missouri, currently residing in Celina, Ohio, one of 10 children. I attended Southeast Missouri State University where I obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management, also attended Webster University for a Masters degree in Marketing. I have over 20 years of experience as an end-user, distributor and supplier. Spent notable industry time with Hazel, Dixon Ticonderoga, and Visions Awards & Awardcraft.
Birthday: March 4, 1961
Marital Status: Married to Heidi with three wonderful children: Hannah, 8, Sam, 7, and Caroline, 5
Hobbies: Biking, golf, hunting, fishing, camping
Education: B.A. in Management/Psychology, M.B.A. in Marketing
Favorite Food: All of it
Favorite Movie: Christmas Vacation
Favorite Team: St. Louis Cardinals Baseball
Favorite Book: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Favorite Music: Classic rock, country, jazz, classical
Favorite Web Site: www.ebay.com
Greatest Business Moment: Seeing someone that used to work for me being promoted into my old position.
Biggest Inspiration/Most Influential Person: My oldest brother, who has always been like a father to me.
Secret to My Success Quote: Never reacting emotionally, always allowing logic to creep in.

Name: Mike Linderman
Company/Title: Express Pens (Custom Impressions), President
Personal Bio: The longtime president of Key Industries (Econ-O-Line), I became Executive Vice President of Norwood after Key was acquired by Norwood. I later spent two years as president of HA-LO’s promotional products group. I acquired supplier Custom Impressions in July of 2002.
Birthday: July 31, 1949
Marital Status: Married
Hobbies: Movies
Education: B.A. in Journalism, Columbia College
Favorite Food: Pizza
Favorite Movie: The English Patient
Favorite Team: Chicago Cubs
Favorite Book: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John le Carre
Favorite Music: ‘60s-’70s rock ‘n’ roll
Favorite Web Site: www.nytimes.com
Greatest Business Moment: Working with my son.
Biggest Inspiration/Most Influential Person: Joe Scher, CEO of Key from 1980-94, who brought me into this industry.
Secret to My Success Quote: “Always deliver what you promise.”

Greg Livings
Company/Title: Bravo Awards, Inc., Partner
Birthday: December 13, 1967
Marital Status: ...not anymore
Hobbies: Fitness/time at the gym, skiing, snowboarding, spending time with my kids
Education: B.S. in Business/Marketing from University of South Florida
Favorite Food: Seafood or steak
Favorite Movie: American Beauty
Favorite Team: My son’s hockey team
Favorite Book: Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don’t by Jim Collins.
Favorite Music: Everything but country
Favorite Web Site: www.bravoawards.net
Greatest Business Moment: Learning at a very young age to “do what you gotta do, just look after it!”
Biggest Inspiration/Most Influential Person: My parents
Secret to My Success Quote: “Never settle.”

Jerry McLaughlin
Company/Title: Branders, CEO
Birthday: November 25, 1963
Marital Status: Happily married
Hobbies: Reading, walking, travel
Education: University of Pennsylvania undergraduate; Temple University School of Law
Favorite Food: Chocolate
Favorite Movie: It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
Favorite Team: The San Mateo Marlins (I’m the coach)
Favorite Book: Recently read: Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis, all-time: Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind by Al Ries and Jack Trout
Favorite Music: Top 40
Favorite Web Site: www.branders.com
Greatest Business Moment: The moment I came to understand the key element to success in my business.
Secret to My Success Quote: “You’re going to be there all day regardless; you may as well get A’s” –my Mom, around the time I was in 2nd grade.

Greg Muzzillo
Company/Title: Proforma, founder and co-CEO
Personal Bio: Graduated from college in 1977. Went to work as an auditor for an international CPA firm, but quickly decided that I wanted to own my own business. In 1978, my roommate and I took $200 to purchas a phone answering machine, a used file cabinet and some stationery and started Proforma from the apartment we shared. In 1980, we had our first million-dollar year. By the mid ’80s, sales were approaching $4 million and we were listed by Inc. Magazine for 3 years as one of their 500 fastest growing companies. But we weren’t making the kind of money I thought we should be making and wanted to find a better way. It seemed to me that the industry was not very efficient. I saw an industry with thousands of distributors, each with duplicated overhead, rent, accounting staffs, computer systems and software. It seemed to me that if distributors could find a way to retain their independent business ownership, share these many duplicated expenses and pool their money to have real marketing programs and pool their purchases to have real clout and valuable relationships with suppliers, then everyone could make more money and have more fun. Franchising is a proven way for business owners to retain their independent ownership while sharing overhead support, marketing and supplier relationships. Proforma started franchising in 1986. Today, Proforma is a family of 650 independent franchise owners; sharing the support from over 100 employees in our Cleveland, Ohio support center; sharing in over $3 million dollar sales and marketing fund; and enjoying strong relationships with over 250 preferred suppliers. My wife Vera is my partner and co-CEO in Proforma. We have 9 children. Vanessa is a junior at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Barbara is a freshman at Clemson University; Theresa is a freshman at University of Miami; Greg is a junior in high school; Catherine is in 6th grade; Brian and Anthony are in 4th grade; Michael is in 1st grade; and Nicholas is almost 2.
Birthday: April 3, 1954
Marital Status: Joyfully married
Hobbies: Proforma (I love this business), aviation, boating
Education: 1977 graduate of Baldwin Wallace College in Berea, Ohio; 1996 & 1997, Masters of Divinity Studies at Ashland Theological Seminary.
Favorite Food: Everything fattening
Favorite Movie: To Kill a Mockingbird
Favorite Team: Any team our nine children play on and the New York Yankees.
Favorite Book: The Bible
Favorite Music: Rock ‘n’ roll
Favorite Web Site: www.ceoexpress.com
Greatest Business Moment: I have had about a thousand: Meeting our 650 franchise owners, 100 fellow support center staff and our top 250 preferred suppliers. I love them.
Biggest Inspiration/Most Influential Person: My best friend, business partner & co-CEO; my wife.
Secret to My Success Quote: I have about a thousand secrets to my success: our 650 franchise owners, 100 fellow support center staff and our top 250 preferred suppliers.

Janelle Nevins
Company/Title: Summit Marketing, Senior Vice President/ National Accounts Director
Personal Bio: I have three children: Preston is 27 and married, Dallas is 25, and Whitney is 19 and a sophomore at University of Georgia
Birthday: November 2, 1949
Marital Status: Married to Art Nevins
Hobbies: Volunteer work and hanging out at our beach house in Seaside
Education: B.S. Elementary Education and M.S. Early Childhood Education — University of Tennessee, Knoxville. I use this degree every day. I’m the ultimate teacher Favorite Food: Sweets — I have a really bad sweet tooth. My girlfriend makes the greatest almond pound cake for all of my clients for Christmas. I could honestly eat this whole cake in one sitting!
Favorite Movie: Love Actually — Beautiful, uplifting, movie that’s all about love and the wonderful things around us!
Favorite Team: University of Texas Volunteers
Favorite Book: All industry magazines – everything that will help me to better my business.
Favorite Music: Soundtracks from great movies — My Best Friend’s Wedding and Notting Hill. Can you tell I love Julia Roberts’ movies?
Favorite Web Site: Our Coca-Cola website
Greatest Business Moment: I have two: being honored as ASI’s 1998 Person of the Year and being elected by my peers in 2003 to represent them as a PPAI Board of Director.
Biggest Inspiration/Most Influential Person: My initial contacts within the Coca- Cola Company, who saw that I had potential and who took the time to teach me about the infrastructure of their organization.
Secret to My Success Quote: “Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss it, you will still land among the stars.

Tom Ngo
Company/Title: KEY-BAK, Sales and Marketing Manager
Personal Bio: Prior to the promotional products industry, I was with a Chinese manufacturing and importing company. I worked for Evans Manufacturing from 1997 to late 2000 and joined KEY-BAK in November 2000
Birthday: March 27, 1971
Marital Status: Single
Hobbies: Golf, traveling, skiing — the usual things, but with no time to do any of it
Education: B.S. in Marketing and International Business from California State University of Long Beach
Favorite Food: “SEE-Food”
Favorite Movie: Ferris Buehler’s Day Off
Favorite Team: My Customer Service Team at KEY-BAK
Favorite Book: So far this year, Downsize This! by Michael Moore
Favorite Music: Jazz, classical, pop, rock, rap, blues, to opera, whatever the mood calls for
Favorite Web Site: www.ebay.com
Greatest Business Moment: Closing a big first-time sale with a U.S. retailer totaling 11 containers or $900K with a profit margin of 67 percent. Order was shipped directly to the client from China without going through a U.S. handling facility
Biggest Inspiration/Most Influential Person: Dad...who else?
Secret to My Success Quote: “A statistic is like a bikini; what it reveals is interesting, what it conceals is crucial.” Never take anything for face value!

Donna M. Nigro
Title: Crystal Springs Apparel LLC, President
Birthday: October 19, 1960
Marital Status: Married to Michael A. Nigro
Hobbies: Golf, music, reading, charity
Education: 1978 Honor Graduate at Hart County High School in Hartwell, GA. Numerous college classes, seminars, workshops, etc.
Favorite Food: My husband’s baked ziti and my mother’s turnip greens
Favorite Movie: The Godfather and Forrest Gump
Favorite Team: MS State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Atlanta Braves
Favorite Book: Prayers That Avail Much for Business by Germaine Copeland and The Bible Favorite Music: Classic rock, jazz, Sinatra, country, torch singers (All of these are usually in the CD player at the same time).
Favorite Web Site: www.pgatour.com and www.csapparel.com
Greatest Business Moment: I have been very fortunate and blessed to have had several. Probably the greatest was the inaugural year of Crystal Springs 1988-1989.
Biggest Inspiration/Most Influential Person: My husband, my children and my parents. Harry Holding, former President of Hartwell Company
Secrets to My Success: “Love what you do, do what you love.” “May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.” “Just go for it, Roy!”

Josh Peyser
Company/Title: MV Sport/Weatherproof, President
Personal Bio: MV Sport/Weatherproof since 1992. Management Consultant with McKinsey & Company in New York City 1988-1992
Birthday: November 19, 1962
Marital Status: Married to Helene Stadtmauer Peyser
Hobbies: My kids, golf and the New York Mets
Education: M.B.A. Harvard Business School 1988, B.A. New York University 1984
Favorite Food: Early morning coffee with my wife
Favorite Team: The Mets
Favorite Book: Anything by Dick Francis or Elmore Leonard
Favorite Web Site: www.itunes.com
Greatest Business Moment: Eating lunch everyday with my father
Biggest Inspiration/Most Influential Person: The person I have lunch with everyday
Secret to My Success Quote: “Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity” —George S. Patton

Cliff Quicksell, Jr., MAS
Company/Title: Headwear-USA LLC., President/CEO
Personal Bio: Two wonderful children, Caitlin and Alexander. Third-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and first-degree black belt in Hapkido. Certified scuba diver.
Birthday: April 30, 1957
Marital Status: Divorced with two brilliant children Caitlin, 13, and Alex, 10
Hobbies: Blackjack table with Jodi, scuba diving, snow skiing, photography, wine tasting, cooking, antiquing and traveling with JQ.
Education: Degree in Secondary Education and Communications from University of Maryland
Favorite Food: Sushi
Favorite Movie: Braveheart. Mel Gibson’s portrayal of William Wallace’s conviction is motivating. It’s a Wonderful Life. This movie is emotional and moving in a power tool kind of way.
Favorite Team: Chicago Bulls, when Michael and Scottie were playing with them.
Favorite Book: The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra – extremely inspirational and grounding.
Favorite Music: Reggae, progressive jazz and anything by Jimmy Buffet
Favorite Web Site: www.askjeeves.com
Greatest Business Moment: About a month after I made a presentation to a group of distributors at a show, I had one attendee approach me and say, “I was in your class some time ago. I applied what you suggested and it worked. I managed to nail a huge order. Thank you.” It was then that I knew that I could do my part to help others and lift perceptions in the industry.”
Biggest Inspiration/Most Influential Person: Three immediately come to mind, all equally influential. Foster Riggs, my high school history teacher, for his conviction and passion. He used to come to class in costume to teach U.S. history; he was mesmerizing. Joe Charbonneau, a speaker, for his wisdom. He said, “There is a law in life called the law of reciprocity which states, ‘You’ve got to give, give, give before you can get, get, get and the more you give, the more you get.’” This philosophy has been the basis for my success. Jodi Friedman, my future wife, for her patience and understanding. She has taught me that all things are achievable in time. Passion and conviction, non-arrogant wisdom, patience and understanding. How could I not succeed?
Secret to My Success Quote: “Sales feed egos. Profits feed families.”

J.R. Roren
Company/Title: Synergy (AZ Distributorship), CEO. Business Building Institute, Founder
Personal Bio: I’ve been blessed with the success of my distributorship thanks to the great people around me. My passion, and therefore job, is marketing for my distributorship. BBI has given me the chance to share some of that success with other distributors interested in building their businesses.
Birthday: September 23, 1963 (Libra on the cusp)
Marital Status: Married
Hobbies: Shooting pool and supporting my son’s competitive baseball career
Education: The street
Favorite Food: Lobster
Favorite Movie: Glengarry Glen Ross (a must-see for anyone in sales)
Favorite Team: Arizona Diamondbacks
Favorite Book: The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell
Favorite Music: ‘70s and ‘80s, Steely Dan
Favorite Web Site: www.uggr.com (Glengarry Glen Ross movie fan club site)
Greatest Business Moment: August 1999 when we purchased our dream building
Biggest Inspiration/Most Influential Person: Dan Franklin. This local businessman was my lifelong mentor. He passed on in the summer of 2003.
Secret to My Success Quote: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has!” — Margaret Meade.

William W. Rosenfeld (a.k.a. Bill Rosen)
Company/Title: Bullet Line Inc. (f.k.a. Sun Manufacturing Corp.), President
Personal Bio: Reside in Davie, Florida with wife Margarita Rosenfeld and children Scott, age 22, actor/student, and Jordan, age 14, student
Birthday: Born in New York
Marital Status: Married
Hobbies: Tennis, physical fitness
Education: B.A. from Brooklyn College
Favorite Food: Asian-American fusion
Favorite Movie: Citizen Kane
Favorite Team: Miami Dolphins, Florida Marlins
Favorite Book: Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don’t by Jim Collins
Favorite Music: Pop, jazz, classic rock
Favorite Web Site: www.bulletline.com
Greatest Business Moment: Each achievement presents its own gratification. Being part of a management team that continues to find new ways to excel and new benchmarks.
Secret to My Success Quote: Never being too busy or too involved in detail to forget that any business is really about relationships: you with each employee, the company with its customers and our customers with their end-users.

Eric J. Rubin
Company/Title: Blue Generation, President
Personal Bio: I worked in the family business long before receiving my M.B.A. from NYU. I started from the very bottom, climbing the warehouse racks at six years old, then promoted to floor sweeper, catalog stuffer and shipping department clerk. My big break came when my father took me on a buying trip to Hong Kong when I was in college. My destiny was set, and the family business has been in my blood since childhood.
Birthday: October 28, 1955
Marital Status: Married, two children
Hobbies: Boating, tennis, painting, exercise
Education: M.B.A. New York University
Favorite Food: Lobster
Favorite Movie: Swept Away
Favorite Web Site: www.bluegeneration.com
Greatest Business Moment: Writing my first million-dollar order.
Biggest Inspiration/Most Influential Person: My father
Secret to My Success Quote: Seeing an opportunity and pursuing it.

Name: David Rothman
Company/Title: Pro Colors, Inc., President/CEO
Personal Bio: Married, one daughter
Birthday: August 14
Hobbies: Business
Education: B.S. from Parsons College
Favorite Food: Italian
Favorite Movie: Once Upon A Time in America
Favorite Team: New York Yankees
Favorite Book: The Godfather by Mario Puzo
Favorite Music: Rock
Favorite Web Site: www.procolorsusa.com
Greatest Business Moment: The start-up of Pro Colors and when we concluded our fifth year of business.
Biggest Inspiration/Most Influential Person: My wife’s uncle.
Secret to My Success Quote: "Put everything you've got into anything you do."

Shelley Sake
Company/Title: Evans Manufacturing Inc., Director of Sales and Marketing.
Personal Bio: I am a small-town girl, born and raised in southwestern Minnesota in a farming community called Truman. I grew up on a family farm so I learned early on the value of hard work. I was also a teenage multitask type, involved in anything and everything from basketball to band to student council. I always laugh when people ask what I went to college for, because I started out studying medical technology and ended up with a business degree. I like to think I was “moved,” but I think after a couple of college chemistry classes my right brain was feeling neglected. I graduated in four years with a double major in Marketing and International Business. I met my husband, Mike, when we both went on a foreign studies program to Guanajuato, Mexico.We were married two-and-a-half years later in September of 1988.We have three healthy, happy and very active daughters — Alyssa, age 11, and identical twins, Abby and Maddy, age 8. I have to take the chance to recognize my husband who supports me 100 percent and has never once complained when Mom has to take another trip. The best compliment I ever received was when a close friend in the industry told me that I lead a very balanced life. There really is no trick to it — just priorities, hard work, over-the-top organization and support at work and at home. I am a “family first” person, but you can’t do that successfully if you don’t work for a company with similar values.

When in college, I worked part-time in customer service at Carlson Craft, a division of Taylor Corporation, in Mankato, Minnesota. That’s when I learned about printing. It appealed to both my creative and analytical side. Shortly after college, I moved to the Twin Cities and in April 1990, I found myself working at Advertising Unlimited at the Pillowline division. I started in customer service, then moved to Account Executive, then to Sales and Marketing Manager and finally, when Norwood purchased AUI, I was given the opportunity to be Marketing Manager for Pillowline, Econoline and the stressball and mousepad lines. I also had my fingers in what is now called Norwood Gourmet. In this position, my focus was product development, promotions and advertising.

Two years ago, I was approached by Evans Manufacturing in Garden Grove, California to become Director of Marketing. Evans is a fast-growing company, and I welcomed the challenge, especially when they allowed me the flexibility of working from my home in Minnesota. I have since taken on the responsibility of sales and customer service. I have learned so many valuable things due to the path I took through organizations and having been exposed to many different areas of discipline.
Birthday: March 5, 1965
Marital Status: Married 15 years
Hobbies: Whatever my kids are into, I am into, including dance, gymnastics and music. I am a good “homework assistant” as well. In my free time, I enjoy perennial gardening, reading, theatre, travel, very amateur writing and photography.
Education: Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a double major in Marketing and International Business. I also studied International Business and Spanish in Guanajuato, Mexico for several months.
Favorite Food: Chilean sea bass with steamed asparagus
Favorite Movie: I love the scenery in Dances with Wolves, the drama in Silence of the Lambs and the humor in Caddyshack.
Favorite Team: I’m a Minnesota Vikings season ticket holder and a huge fan. My second favorite team would be whoever is playing the Green Bay Packers. My husband says I missed my calling and should be an NFL commentator!
Favorite Book: I’m an avid reader, so it’s hard to pinpoint one. Lately, I’ve been recommending The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom. On the business side, I love the book Marketing Outrageously by Jon Spoelstra
Favorite Music: Classic rock to alternative — really anything but country or opera. Right now I love Sheryl Crowe, Train and No Doubt
Favorite Web Site: www.espn.com, of course. I also like www.snopes.com to dispel all those urban legends
Greatest Business Moment: I’ve had good success in business, but there are two things that stand out. First, I was working with a wonderful team to build what I think was one of the best customer service teams in the industry for Pillowline/Advertising Unlimited. It required a lot of training on teamwork, daily coaching and empowerment for individuals but to see that group grow was extremely rewarding. Customers liked it, too! The second thing that stands out was achieving 33 percent of sales coming from new products for three consecutive years at Norwood. It’s fun to see ideas all the way from early trend to sales!
Biggest Inspiration/Most Influential People: Jim Habzda, Norwood Sales, for his salesmanship; Robin Fennell, Norwood Product Development, for teaching me about trends and for true support; Gary Nordmark, former GM at Pillowline, for teaching me to look at the big picture; Sharon Menssen, Beacon Marketing, for leadership in organizational/analytical marketing; Alan Vaught, Evans Owner, for setting the bar on ethics and good treatment of employees; my parents for work ethic.
Secret to My Success Quote: Lead a balanced life. If you focus on success, you will probably forget about living. If you focus on living and doing the things you love, you have a good chance of being successful. “There is no limit to great ideas. What is limited is the follow-through to turn great ideas into great acts.”

Name: Joel D. Schaffer, MAS
Company/Title: Soundline, CEO
Birthday: May 27, 1945
Marital Status: Yes, very
Hobbies: Woodwork, travel and model railroads
Education: B.A. in Political Science, LIU
Favorite Food: Mexican
Favorite Movie: 2001: A Space Odyssey
Favorite Book: Biography of John Adams
Favorite Music: Pink Floyd - Moody Blues
Favorite Web Site: www.ebay.com
Greatest Business Moment: January 4,1986: The day I finally started Soundline, my own business.
Secret to My Success Quote: “Keep your brain five minutes ahead of your hands, feet and mouth.”

Steve Slagle, CAE
Company/Title: PPAI, President/CEO
Personal Bio: Has been President/CEO of PPAI since February 1996. From 1983 until that time, served as chief staff executive. Other work experience includes serving as Executive Director and Director of Communications for the National Association for Campus Activities, account executive for an advertising and public relations firm, general manager of a direct marketing company, commercial printing company account executive, programs and events director and director of student publications for a large state university and retail merchandising. Earned the CAE designation in 1991. Wife Debra is a professional wedding consultant and events planner.
Birthday February 22
Marital Status: Married, no children
Hobbies: Golf, sailing
Education: M.S. in Communications, University of Tennessee
Favorite Food: Lobster
Favorite Movie: Chicago
Favorite Team: University of Tennessee teams
Favorite Book: John Grisham and Pat Conroy novels
Favorite Music: Blues and jazz
Favorite Web Site: None in particular
Greatest Business Moment: The successful launch of PPAI Expo in Las Vegas
Biggest Inspiration/Most Influential Person: High school librarian who convinced me to apply for a college scholarship and pursue my education.
Secret to My Success Quote: “Never, never, never quit” — Winston Churchill.

Paul Smith
Company/Title: Calconix Inc. (Time Zone® Line), President/Owner
Personal Bio: In 1976, I started Calconix as a consumer electronics company under the name Time Zone. In 1984, the company joined the promotional products industry association and, by 1987, was exclusively committed to the industry. In 1997, along with Doug Bruce, MAS of Pennsylvania Promotions, I started the Premier Group, an industry association of distributors and suppliers. I served as Chairman until 2002 and am now Vice Chairman.
Birthday: I am a Libra, born October 11
Marital Status: I have been married to the former Carol Anne Nye for 34 years. We have three sons: Chris, Vice President of Calconix; Jeff, a financial planner and Kevin, a veterinarian.
Hobbies: Skiing, golf, fishing, dancing and reading
Education: B.A. and B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Lehigh University. M.B.A. from Drexel University. Hold several patents in electronic packaging of semiconductors, which were used in the development of electronic watches.
Favorite Food: Scrapple
Favorite Movie: The Godfather
Favorite Team: Lehigh Football ‘cause it’s fun football
Favorite Book: Blazing Saddles by Mel Brooks
Favorite Music: Country
Favorite Web Site: My Yahoo
Greatest Business Moment: Singing karaoke at the Concord
Biggest Inspiration/Most Influential person: Doug Bruce. He never gave up on growing the Premier Group right to the end.
Secret to My Success Quote: “Do what you love and you’ll love what you do!”

Brian W. Sullivan
Company/Title: AdMent Group LLC, Co-Founder
Personal Bio: I live in a suburb of Chicago with my wife and two daughters. I have over ten years of management, marketing and sales experience. I was president and founder of That’s A Great Gift! and CorporateGifts.com, both catalog and online retailers that sold promotional products and business gift programs. After selling both companies, I co-founded the AdMent Group LLC. The AdMent Group is an interactive technology company that provides internet solutions to the promotional products industry. They work exclusively with promotional product distributors to build, manage and market their web sites.
Birthday: September 17, 1969
Marital Status: Married
Hobbies: Spending time with my daughters
Education: B.A. in Business and Administration from Governors State University
Favorite Food: Pizza
Favorite Movie: Ocean’s Eleven
Favorite Team: Chicago Cubs
Favorite Book: Pour Your Heart into it by Howard Schultz — the story of Starbucks Coffee
Favorite Music: Rock and pop
Favorite Web Site: www.inc.com
Greatest Business Moment: After researching the promotional products industry extensively, I realized the majority of the distributors had “cookiecutter” web sites and their sites were not user-friendly. When I realized that such a need existed for a company like ours, Tom (co-founder) and I got to work immediately. A realization that you have the ability to fulfill a niche and then acting upon it is a defining moment in your career.
Biggest Inspiration/Most Influential Person: My parents — they are the hardest working people I know and they have always supported me in all of my endeavors.
Secret to My Success Quote: “All things are difficult before they are easy” —John Norley.

Thomas M. Sullivan
Company/Title: Adment Group LLC, Founder
Personal Bio: I co-founded the Adment Group, an internet-based design and development company specializing in distributor-based web sites for the promotional products industry. I currently serve as the lead design and development architect, and I am the current technical officer. I have over nine years of experience in web architectures, application development and design concepts. At the Adment Group, I work closely with other designers, developers and business analysts to provide advanced solutions for our clients.
Birthday: June 10, 1971
Marital Status: Married
Hobbies: Golf, softball, audio/video hi-fi, anything technical
Education: B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Northern Illinois University
Favorite Food: Everything
Favorite Movie: Usual Suspects
Favorite Team: Chicago Cubs, Chicago Bears
Favorite Music: Everything
Favorite Web Site: www.admentgroup.com
Greatest Business Moment: Designing a line of European/U.S. (Universal) remote controls for the consumer electronics industry.
Biggest Inspiration/Most Influential Person: My mother and father for all of the character and values they have instilled into my life.
Secret to My Success Quote: “The more you learn, the more you realize you don’t know!”

Dan Townes
Company/Title: SHEPENCO/Shelbyville Pencil Company Inc., President.
Personal Bio: I began work at SHEPENCO during my summer break of 1967. I am the third generation in the family business, and the company continues to prosper, due to the current leadership. I’ve served on various PPAI committees, including the PPAI Board of Directors Class of 1991. I also served on the PPCEF Board of Directors, was named YEPPA’s (now PPNA) Person of the Year in 1990, and am a founding member and former VP of the PPA Mid-South regional association.
Birthday: October 7, 1953
Marital Status: Married to Natalie Pyatt Townes
Hobbies: Being with my family and friends
Education: Public
Favorite Food: Bait without hooks, a.k.a. sushi
Favorite Movie: The Godfather
Favorite Team: Atlanta Braves
Favorite Book: The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know
Favorite Music: Crying in Your Beer, Trains, Cheatin’ Neon Light, honky-tonk country music.
Favorite Web Site: www.creativitypool.com
Greatest Business Moment: It started in 1968, working with some of the finest people in the world and it continues today.
Biggest Inspiration/Most Influential Person: My dad
Secret to My Success Quote: “Love everyone; trust a few.”

Chris Vernon, CAS
Company/Title: The Vernon Company, President/COO
Personal Bio: I’m basically a SOB (Son of the Boss). Have been with the Vernon Company since 1989, following a full-time graduate M.B.A. program in Chicago and four years at Harris/Lanier Corporation in Dallas selling network computers. Vernon Company employs about 800 people nationwide and celebrates its 102nd anniversary in 2004. We’re presently in our fourth generation of family ownership and management.
Birthday: February 17 (40+ years young)!
Marital Status: Married 16 years
Hobbies: Outdoor sports, especially hunting and tennis; motorcycles; travel; gardening
Education: M.B.A. from Kellogg School of Management and B.A. in Political Science from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois
Favorite Food: Dry, aged steaks; broiled quail; fresh walleye or rainbow trout
Favorite Movie: Braveheart and Gettysburg
Favorite Team: Iowa Hawkeyes football.
Favorite Book: Anything by Tom Clancy or Robert Ludlum
Favorite Music: Progressive jazz and blues
Favorite Web Site: www.sportsmansguide.com or www.cabelas.com — outstanding selection of the newest Gore-Tex apparel and camouflage gear.
Greatest Business Moment: Still waiting for it to occur!
Biggest Inspiration/Most Influential Person: My wife Sheri. She’s stuck

Michael M. Woody
Company/Title: International Marketing Advantages, President.
Personal Bio: Counselor magazine’s International Person of the Year 1999, Specialty Advertising Association of New England Person of the Year 1992. I have written for several publications, including “3 Things U.S. Suppliers Must Do to Survive” in the November issue of Corporate Logo. I gave testimony on “The Lessons of NAFTA” before the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere on April 27, 2000. I have been a member of the President’s Council and Secretary of the Board of Governors at Providence College, a member of the Board of Directors at Fruit Hill Day Services for the Elderly, and President of the Board of Trustees at St. Xavier Academy.
Birthday: April 6, 1955
Marital Status: Married 26 years
Hobbies: Reading, writing, music, travel
Education: B.A. English Literature, Summa Cum Laude, Providence College 1977,. M.B.A. Providence College, 1983
Favorite Food: Mofongo (look it up)
Favorite Movie: To Kill a Mockingbird
Favorite Team: Boston Red Sox because rooting for the Yankees is like rooting for Microsoft
Favorite Book: Moby Dick by Herman Melville
Favorite Music: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, J.S. Bach, Mozart, almost anything on Stax, Chess or Motown labels
Greatest Business Moment: Too early to tell
Biggest Inspiration/Most Influential Person: My wife

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