L.E.A.D. Local Minnesota Takes The Industry’s Message To St. Paul
Minnesota State Rep. Joyce Peppin (second from right), here with (from left) PPAI Public Affairs Director Anne Stone, Edwards Garment Upper Midwest Sales Representative Dave Malek and Fanfare Promotions Co-Owner Robert Bauman, MAS, was one of the 17 legislators the L.E.A.D. Local participants met with in St. Paul.
On April 4, PPAI joined industry professionals in St. Paul for L.E.A.D. Local Minnesota. L.E.A.D. Local is the Association’s state-level legislative outreach effort to deliver the message of the promotional products industry to state legislators, and draws on practices established with PPAI’s annual Legislative Education and Action Day (L.E.A.D.) in Washington, D.C.
PPAI Public Affairs Director Anne Stone, Government Relations Manager Joseph Landeros and Diversity Development Manager Seth Barnett joined Minnesota-based members Dave Malek, upper Midwest sales representative for Edwards Garment; Scott Hareid, president of multi-line representative agency Hareid Marketing; Robert Bauman, MAS, co-owner of distributor Fanfare Promotions; and David Hawes, MAS+, brand architect with Geiger, and Peter Zeiger, MAS, director of recruiting and sales partner development at Geiger, who was in from Rhode Island.
During their day at the capitol, L.E.A.D. Local participants held 17 meetings with members of the state’s legislators, with the goal of educating them on the promotional products industry and its impact in Minnesota. The group met with a number of key committee members, including Sen. Dan Sparks, chairman of the Job Development Committee, and Rep. Steve Green, Economic Development Committee chair.
Geiger's Peter Zeigler, MAS (left) and David Hawes, MAS+ (right) spent time with Rep. Paul Rosenthal during L.E.A.D. Local to speak with him on the promotional products industry and its role in Minnesota.
PPAI Public Affairs Director Anne Stone, Government Relations Manager Joseph Landeros and Diversity Development Manager Seth Barnett joined Minnesota-based members Dave Malek, upper Midwest sales representative for Edwards Garment; Scott Hareid, president of multi-line representative agency Hareid Marketing; Robert Bauman, MAS, co-owner of distributor Fanfare Promotions; and David Hawes, MAS+, brand architect with Geiger, and Peter Zeiger, MAS, director of recruiting and sales partner development at Geiger, who was in from Rhode Island.
During their day at the capitol, L.E.A.D. Local participants held 17 meetings with members of the state’s legislators, with the goal of educating them on the promotional products industry and its impact in Minnesota. The group met with a number of key committee members, including Sen. Dan Sparks, chairman of the Job Development Committee, and Rep. Steve Green, Economic Development Committee chair.
“At almost every meeting we had, when we gave them our stats about the size of our industry and its economic impact in the state, you could see the light bulb go off,” says Hareid. “They had no idea we were an industry or how large we were.”
Hareid adds, “We met with one legislator in particular, Rep. Debra Hilstrom, who has taken a strong stance on toxicity in children’s toys, and when we educated her that we were one of the only trade associations to require supplier members to undergo safety compliance training to participate in our trade shows and elsewhere, she was astounded and immediately became a fan of our industry.”
The industry travels to Washington, D.C., May 25-26 to meet with representatives and senators on Capitol Hill. To stay connected with L.E.A.D. Local and PPAI’s legislative efforts, visit the Association’s legislative website at www.ppailaw.org or follow @PPAILAW on Twitter.