(Clockwise from bottom left) PPAI Government Relations Manager Seth Barnett plans the day’s meetings with Academy Advertising Specialties & Awards’ James Donatto II, James Donatto and Erica Fowler Foster, and Dana Floyd with SAGE.
On March 5, PPAI joined with industry professionals for L.E.A.D. Local Texas in Austin. L.E.A.D. Local is part of PPAI’s state-level legislative outreach efforts to deliver the message of the promotional products industry to state legislators.
In Austin, PPAI Public Affairs Director Anne Lardner-Stone and Government Relations Manager Seth Barnett were joined by Dave DeGreeff, MAS; Academy Advertising Specialties & Awards President James Donatto and his son, James Donatto II; SAGE Director of Information Services Dana Floyd; and BAG MAKERS, Inc. Regional Manager D’Anna Zimmer, CAS.
Rep. Senfronia Thompson (center) met with Dave DeGreeff, MAS, and Dana Floyd during PPAI’s L.E.A.D. Local event in Austin.
“L.E.A.D. Local is a crucial part of PPAI’s legislative goals,” says Barnett. “Being able to forge lasting relationships with legislators who live and work in our community will make us a stronger, more understood contributor to state economies.”
The group met with 25 legislators and staff while in Austin, the most of any L.E.A.D. Local event. During their time on the capital, the group discussed Texas’ place in the promotional products industry. Texas is home to the largest number of promotional products industry professionals, with more than 78,000 employees statewide, and the industry generates more than $2 billion in annual revenue—roughly 10 percent of the industry’s revenue nationwide. The group also noted that Texas companies represent the entire supply chain of the industry, from importers to manufacturers to distributors.
L.E.A.D Local Austin, whose participants include (from left) SAGE Director of Information Services Dana Floyd; PPAI Government Relations Manager Seth Barnett; Dave DeGreeff, MAS; BAG MAKERS, Inc. Regional Manager D’Anna Zimmer, CAS; and PPAI Public Affairs Director Anne Lardner-Stone, brought the message of an industry representing 78,000 Texas jobs and $2 billion in revenue to the state capital.
Returning from Austin, the L.E.A.D. Local participants have reported tremendous feedback from legislators. The group’s message was well received by those they met with, although most did not know promotional products were an industry, let alone such a large one within the state. Alongside educating representatives and their staffs, the L.E.A.D. Local participants made a number of connections with potential allies for future legislative issues.
To learn more about L.E.A.D. Local and PPAI’s legislative action, visit www.ppailaw.org.
Rep. Senfronia Thompson (center) met with Dave DeGreeff, MAS, and Dana Floyd during PPAI’s LEAD Local event in Austin.