PPAI joined with the Philadelphia Area Promotional Products Association (PAPPA) and the Three Rivers Advertising Specialty Association (TRASA) in June to host a Legislative Education and Action Day (L.E.A.D.) in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. This event, called L.E.A.D. Local, launched PPAI’s state-level legislative outreach effort to deliver the message of the promotional products industry to state legislators.
Pennsylvania was the site of the first L.E.A.D. Local because PAPPA and TRASA leaders have worked diligently to building the industry’s legislative involvement in their state. PPAI Government Relations Manager Seth Barnett joined George Jackson, owner of Pittsburgh-based distributor George Jackson Promotions (UPIC: GJPRO); Bruce Korn, CAS, president of distributor Zakback, Inc. (UPIC: ZAKBACK) in Malvern; Charles Machion, senior counsel with ASI in Trevos; and Larry Whitney, director of global compliance at New Kensington supplier Polyconcept, for the inaugural event. They met with the offices of 15 state representatives and senators, and in all but two cases, with the legislators themselves.
“The elected officials with whom we met all expressed gratitude for being able to meet with industry members,” says Barnett. “As is typical among legislators who have never met promotional products professionals, most of the officials our group met in Harrisburg did not realize that this was an industry, let alone one that is responsible for generating $1.7 billion in their own back yard. Many legislators showed their eagerness to learn more about our industry and scheduled future factory visits and tours of regional trade shows scheduled within their districts.”
While the L.E.A.D. Local participants did not go into their meetings with a specific piece of state legislation in mind to reference, the open nature of the conversations helped them educate the legislators on the industry’s $1.7 billion impact in the state, and to learn about the bills the senators and representatives were working on. State Sen. Lisa Baker is drafting a bill that would eliminate all forms of gifts given to state officials except promotional products. She said that the industry’s presence solidified her decision to exclude promotional products and that she could not imagine politics without their presence.
Barnett adds, “The elected officials were grateful to meet with leaders of our industry, and I am thrilled with the success of this event. This was an obvious next step for our industry’s government relations efforts, and it seems to have come at the right time.”
In addition to the meetings in Harrisburg, PPAI reached out to more than 3,500 Pennsylvania industry leaders for a virtual fly-in to share the message that promotional products work. The fly-in helped amplify the conversations that took place in the capital.
PAPPA and TRASA leaders are already working on next year’s L.E.A.D. Local while similar events are being planned for other state capitals. It is PPAI’s goal to continue working with regional associations to conduct L.E.A.D. Local events nationwide over the next five years. Maintaining relationships with state leaders is a key to success at this level. Barnett adds, “PPAI will continue to support this program in the coming years, but it is ultimately up to industry leaders to keep the conversation moving within their respective states.”
To learn more about L.E.A.D. Local and PPAI’s legislative action, visit www.ppailaw.org.
