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A Bipartisan’s Take On Expo Speaker
I take exception to the letter criticizing PPAI for bringing in James Carville as an Expo speaker. Certainly Carville is a political activist and a Democrat, there is no news there. Where I am amazed and must take exception is the statement criticizing him for being “one of the largest supporters of healthcare reform.” As a small-business owner who is concerned about the spiraling, out-of-control cost of healthcare and the unavailability of affordable health insurance for owners and our employees, I truly appreciate the efforts of Carville and all Americans who are working for effective healthcare reform. Hopefully their efforts will result in a reformed system that allows more Americans to be able to afford effective health insurance and lowers overall healthcare costs.

I didn’t criticize PPAI for bringing in a Republican political operative in Karen Hughes, since I realize that there is more than one opinion in America. I do, however, applaud PPAI’s decision to bring in Carville, who has a superb record as an effective political activist and negotiator with an ability to find compromises and get legislation passed. And he does it with a unique style that, for the most part, masks his great intellect and knowledge of government. We all can learn from what he says just as we all could have learned from what Karen Hughes had to say.

Healthcare reform is absolutely one of the most important political efforts of the 21st century; especially for small-business owners and their employees. It makes a lot of sense.

Bill Turney, MAS
Executive Vice President
Augusta Promotional Products, LLC
Houston, Texas
UPIC: AUGUSTA

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Expo Attendees Comment On The Show
It was the best Expo I’ve attended. You made some significant improvements, and the three speakers were absolutely excellent. It was a value-packed experience!

David J. Hawes, MAS
Brand Architect
Geiger
Minnetonka, Minnesota
UPIC: geiger

The Expo was great as usual but even better this year. I got a more personal, how-can-we-help-you feeling from every session I attended, and even the people at the booths seemed more caring. Maybe it is just how we worked the floor this year or the economy, but either way it was a very good show for us in every way.

My only slight downside was the opening speaker on Wednesday morning, but the presentation on Tuesday afternoon was knock-your-socks-off.

Penn Hoyt, director of marketing for OrderTrax2, gave a wonderful and very helpful presentation. He gave good information during his session and was available to answer individual questions at the booth on the show floor.

We have just gotten the OrderTrax2 information set up and look forward to using it.

Judy Broyles, MAS
Owner
ADVENTURES
Grand Prairie, Texas
UPIC: ADVNTURS

I know the vendors don’t want to hear this, but I wish it would be a four-day show. I also really enjoyed James Carville.

However, this is by far the most difficult show to work due to the amount of suppliers plus the vast assortment of products. When I visit a booth and find items that I want to show or sell, I generally have samples sent to me. However, more than 50 percent of the samples I receive come in a box or package with absolutely no identification.

Trying to find who made it or where it came from is by far the most frustrating thing I go through. I can’t imagine why a supplier would send out a requested item to a distributor and not include their name or identity with the product. Right now I have six items that I received after the show (for presentations this week) and have absolutely no idea where they came from, so I can’t even show them.

Granted, due to the show’s size and the difficulty of trying to see as much as possible, I don’t always take the time to write down the details of every item I like, but you would think that a supplier would not send anything out without any information about it.

John Mallow
President/Owner
Logo Products Unlimited
Stuart, Florida