PPAI has named Tom Carpenter, MAS, the 2019 PPAI RAC (Regional Association Council) Volunteer of the Year. Carpenter, national accounts manager at Minnesota-based Fey Promotional Products Group, will be formally honored at the 2019 RAC Leadership Development Workshop on October 21 in Grapevine, Texas.

The PPAI RAC Volunteer of the Year Award is presented annually to regional association members who have demonstrated an outstanding level of volunteerism and leadership, and who have made significant and measurable contributions to a regional association. Carpenter is the 17th recipient of the award that has been presented annually since 2010.

Carpenter, who currently serves as treasurer for the Promotional Products Association Southwest (PPAS) regional association, exemplifies the spirit of volunteerism and dedication to the promotional products industry at every level. Prior to his current role, he spent four years (2011-2014) as the PPAS, RAC delegate to PPAI. He was a PPAS board member from 2005-09, was elevated to vice president in 2009-2010 and served as PPAS president in 2010-2011.

Along with his service to PPAS, Carpenter has volunteered in many capacities for PPAI since 2002. He was on the PPAI Membership Taskforce in 2014 and was the RAC delegate on the PPAI Board from 2013-2015. He was a member of the PPAI Volunteer Project Pool from 2016-2018 and helped with the PPAI Awards Work Group from 2016-2017. He was a RAC delegate and member from 2011-2016, served as a member of the Suppliers Committee from 2017-2019 and currently serves on the Awards and Recognition Committee (2018-2022).

Carpenter has earned multiple awards throughout his career, including two PPB Volunteer of the Month accolades—November 2014 and July 2015—and recognition as a PPAI Fellow in 2016. He has also been an advocate for opportunities to spread the word about the promotional marketing industry.